Gold prices choppy after weak ADP report, Yellen comments
New York (May 6) Gold futures seesawed between small losses and gains on Wednesday as investors mulled a lower-than-anticipated reading on private-sector employment and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen.
Gold was showing a mild loss in early trading, rallied and then seesawed between modest losses and gains after the latest data on U.S. private-sector jobs. Comments on Wednesday from Yellen warning of inflated values in stocks on also were being watched by investors and unsettling U.S. stocks.
Yellen was presenting a speech and conducting a question-and-answer session for the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
Gold for June delivery GCM5, -0.35% shed $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,190.30 an ounce on Comex. July silver SIN5, -0.63% fell 3.4 cents, or 0.2%, $16.545 an ounce.
Payrolls processor ADP said the U.S. created 169,000 private-sector jobs in April. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected 189,000 jobs. Still, analysts predict the metal will stay under the $1,200 mark ahead of Friday’s much-anticipated U.S. jobs report.
The weak ADP data were “a tragedy,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. “It has been two consecutive months that we are receiving a feeble jobs number and it appears a trend is emerging.”
Even so, “in order to confirm this trend, we still need to see more readings,” Aslam said. For now, the ADP data “have struck a chord with traders, which enabled them to position themselves for a flimsy” U.S. nonfarm payroll reading Friday.
Meanwhile, traders “who are harboring for higher dollar price are certainly not happy after today’s [ADP] number,” said Aslam.
The dollar DXY, -0.97% was down Wednesday against major rivals, aiding gold prices again, while U.S. stocks traded lower. A weaker greenback often provides support for dollar-denominated gold prices.
In other metals trading, July platinum PLN5, -1.01% fell $7, or 0.6%, to $1,141.80 an ounce, while June palladium PAM5, -0.40% fell $1, or 0.1%, to $793.95 an ounce. July copper HGN5, -0.66% shed a half cent to $2.93 a pound.
Source: MarketWatch
