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A weaker-than-expected US jobs report released earlier this week bolstered commodity prices, but the momentum fizzled on Friday.
A weaker-than-expected US jobs report released earlier this week has impacted commodity prices the last few days. The underwhelming employment numbers, showing the economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, has investors speculating that the Federal Reserve will hold off tapering its stimulus program.
That belief pushed gold prices to a near one-month high of $1,351.61 an ounce on October 24, Reuters reported. However, today, spot gold prices dipped to $1,338.05 an ounce, down $8.01, before rising slightly to $1,346.86 an ounce later in the session.
“We are certainly seeing some support this week, which is mainly due to external factors like the weakness of the dollar and dropping yields as the market tries to assess whether we will have (U.S. stimulus) tapering in coming months or not,” Credit Suisse analyst Karim Cherif told Reuters.
Silver prices were also down today, dropping $0.26, to $22.39 an ounce, Reuters said. Like gold, silver prices edged to a one-month high on October 24, hitting $22.85 an ounce.
Copper prices also declined today. In London, three-month copper prices fell to $7,125 per tonne, down $49.88 from the previous session, as per Reuters. Copper prices on the COMEX in New York were down $0.02, hitting $3.24 a pound, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
New US durable-goods data impacted copper prices, as did investor worries over China’s credit markets, the WSJ also states. US orders for goods rose 3.7 percent in September, but the majority of the gains came from higher aircraft orders. However, Bill Baruch, senior market strategist with Chicago-based brokerage iiTrader, told the WSJ the data is not very positive as other sectors of the economy did not show much improvement.
Brent crude oil prices also fell today, sinking below $107 a barrel. Higher supplies of Brent crude and declining demand pushed prices lower. Brent crude prices for December fell $0.26, to $106.792 a barrel, according to Reuters.
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