(Kitco News) – The gold market continues to hold critical levels of long-term support, even as the US labor market remains healthier than expected, with fewer workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time.
On Thursday, the US Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 213,000, from the previous week’s downwardly revised estimate of 208,000 claims. The figures beat expectations as economists looked for claims to rise to 220,000.
Gold’s ability to hold $1,675 continues to attract some buyers as the precious metal sees some upside momentum in the initial reaction to the latest economic data. December gold futures are trading near session highs, last trading at $1,686 an ounce, up 0.61% on the day.
The four-week moving average for new claims – often seen as a more reliable measure of the labor market as it smooths out week-to-week volatility – fell to 216,750, down 6,000 claims from the previous week’s revised average.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were 1.379 million during the week ended Sept. 10, down 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
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