Strong Payrolls Send Gold and Silver Prices Plummeting
The August employment report sparked a sharp decline in gold and silver prices on Friday. The strong jobs data lifted Treasury yields, firmed the U.S. dollar, and revived expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates later this month.
Spot gold was trading near $4,402.40 an ounce, down 1.56%, while spot silver was trading at $65.590, down 1.87% on the session.
The nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, far above expectations of around 53,000 to 55,000, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. The report undercuts the Waller-led pause trade that supported gold Thursday and gives the Fed more room to focus on inflation.
The labor data did not deliver the soft-growth confirmation bulls needed, and the next test is whether the upcoming Consumer Price Index (CPI) report keeps inflation risk high enough to validate the Fed-hike repricing.