Gold prices holding solid gains as ADP says 109k jobs created in April

NEW YORK (May 6) Gold prices are off their overnight highs but are still holding on to robust gains as the U.S labor market continues to lose momentum as slightly fewer private-sector jobs were created last month.

Private-sector payrolls processor ADP said Wednesday that 109,000 jobs were created in April, up compared to 61,000 jobs created in March. However, the data missed expectations as consensus estimates forecasted an increase of 118,000 jobs.

“Small and large employers are hiring, but we're seeing softness in the middle,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Large companies have resources to deploy, and small ones are the most nimble, both important advantages in a complex labor environment.”

The gold mark is not seeing much reaction to the latest labor market data as prices see some technical profit taking after driving above $4,700 an ounce in overnight activity. Spot gold last traded at $4,683.20 an ounce, up nearly 3% on the day.

The report also noted that wage growth was relatively muted, creating benign inflation pressures. The report said that workers who stayed in their job last month saw an annual wage growth of 4.4%; meanwhile for those who changed jobs saw annual wage growth of 6.6%.

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