Gold Prices Flat as Markets Eye Nonfarm Payrolls

January 9, 2015

Frankfurt (Jan 9)  Gold is almost unchanged on Friday, with the metal trading at a spot price of $1211.33 per ounce in the European session. In the US, today’s highlight is Non-Farm Employment Change. As well, the US unemployment rate will be released.

US employment data is in the spotlight, as the markets wait for the Nonfarm Employment Change and unemployment rate reports for December. Nonfarm Employment Change is one of the most important economic indicators, and traders should treat this event as a market-mover. The indicator had an outstanding reading of 321 thousand in November, but is expected to soften to 241 thousand in December. The unemployment rate has been creeping lower, and is expected to dip to 5.7%, down from 5.8% in November.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its previous meeting on Wednesday, with no surprises for the markets. There had been plenty of speculation that the insertion of the word “patience” in the previous policy statement signaled a more aggressive monetary stance. However, the minutes stated that Fed members remained of the view that Fed policy had not changed, and that a rate hike was unlikely before April. Although economic growth continues to improve, inflation remains at very low levels, which means that the economy is in no danger of overheating, so there is no immediate need for a rate increase.

Source: FXstreet

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