Gold price moves lower following 42K drop in U.S. weekly jobless claims

New York (Mar 11) Thursday the U.S. Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims fell by 42,000 to 712,000, down from the previous week’s upwardly revised estimate of 754,000 claims.

The latest labor market data significantly beat economists’ estimates as consensus forecasts called for initial claims to be round 730,000.

The four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it flattens week-to-week volatility – fell to 759,000, down by 34,000 claims from the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 4.144 million during the week ending Feb. 27, down by 193,000 from the previous week.

By 10:00am EST, spot gold was down $8 to $1,724, while spot silver slid nearly 2% to $26.01.

KitcoNews