Gold, Silver Prices Surge on Unexpected US Job Loss
Gold and silver prices surged on Friday after the US economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July. This unexpected decline in employment weakened the case for another Federal Reserve interest-rate increase.
The Comex December gold price rose by 2.3% to $4,401 an oz., reaching a seven-week high. September silver jumped by 3.6% to $63.85 an oz., also hitting a seven-week high.
Despite the rally, both gold and silver remain below their peak prices: gold is still about 21% lower than its late-January record near $5,600, while silver is nearly half below its $121.67 peak.
The US nonfarm payrolls fell short of expectations for an increase of around 80,000 jobs in July. The labour-force participation rate slipped to 61.4%, its lowest in over five years.