Gold Futures Settle Lower
Gold prices drifted lower on Wednesday despite the dollar’s mild retreat from multi-month highs.
The dollar index, which climbed to 107.24, has eased to 106.80, down 0.18% from the previous close.
Atlanta Fed Bank President Raphael Bostic said that there is no urgency for the Fed to raise interest rates further to get inflation back under control.
On the contrary, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that she thinks another interest rate hike is on the table and that rates could be held higher for “some time” to assess the effects of the tightening in financial conditions that have already occurred.
Gold futures for December ended down $6.70 at $1,834.80 an ounce.
Silver futures for December ended lower by $0.231 at $21.146 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.5890 per pound, recording a loss of $0.0320.
A report from payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment rose by 89,000 jobs in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 180,000 jobs in August. Economists had expected private sector employment to advance by 153,000 jobs compared to the addition of 177,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The increase in September reflected the slowest pace of job growth since January 2021, when private employers shed jobs.
While Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial, said a cooling labor market will take pressure off the Federal Reserve, he urged traders to proceed with caution ahead of the Labor Department’s more closely watched report on Friday.
Economists expect employment to increase by 170,000 jobs in September after climbing by 187,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.7% from 3.8%.
The Institute for Supply Management released a separate report this morning showing a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of September.
The ISM said its services PMI edged down to 53.6 in September from 54.5 in August, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth. The modest decrease matched economist estimates.
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