WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled lower on Thursday amid concerns the data showing a much stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of June may convince the Federal Reserve to resume raising interest rates.
However, a weak dollar limited the yellow metal's downside.
The dollar index, which was down at 102.92, rallied to 103.57 around mid morning, before paring gains and dropping to 103.25.
Gold futures for August ended lower by $11.70 at $1,915.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for September ended down $0.512 at $22.890 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $3.7345 per pound, down $0.0340 from the previous close.
Data released by payroll processor ADP this morning showed private sector employment in U.S. spiked by 497,000 jobs in June after jumping by a downwardly revised 267,000 jobs in May.
Economists had expected private sector employment to increase by 228,000 jobs compared to the addition of 278,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
While the surge in private sector employment paints a positive picture of the economy, continued strength in the labor market may convince the Federal Reserve to resume raising interest rates.
The Fed has previously warned about the impact of labor market tightness.
The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing the pace of growth in the service sector accelerated by much more than expected in June.
The ISM said its services PMI climbed to 53.9 in June from 50.3 in May, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 51.0.
Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX