Gold continues to lose ground this week. In Wednesday’s North American session, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1264.42, down 0.14% on the day. On the release front, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change slowed to 190 thousand, just above the forecast of 189 thousand. On Thursday, the US releases unemployment claims.
The ADP nonfarm employment report came in as expected, with a gain of 190 thousand. Still, this was a soft reading compared to the previous release, which showed a gain of 235 thousand. Investors are, of course, much more interested in the official nonfarm employment change release, which takes place on Friday. Again, the markets are expecting a soft landing, with a forecast of 200 thousand, down from 261 thousand in the October release. If nonfarm payrolls, one of the most important indicators, is weaker than expected, the US dollar could lose ground. The US will also release a wage growth report on Friday, with the markets expecting a gain of 0.3%.
The markets are widely expecting the Federal Reserve to continue to raise rates in the near future, and this sentiment continues to weigh on gold prices. The odds on upcoming rate hikes continues to fluctuate. Currently, the CME has priced in December and January hikes at 90% and 88%, respectively. If the US economy continues to perform at its impressive pace into 2018, we could see the Fed raise rates up to three times next year.
