Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Friday Stock Market CRASH Following Israel Attack on Iranian Nuclear Facilities - 19th Apr 24
All Measures to Combat Global Warming Are Smoke and Mirrors! - 18th Apr 24
Cisco Then vs. Nvidia Now - 18th Apr 24
Is the Biden Administration Trying To Destroy the Dollar? - 18th Apr 24
S&P Stock Market Trend Forecast to Dec 2024 - 16th Apr 24
No Deposit Bonuses: Boost Your Finances - 16th Apr 24
Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - 8th Apr 24
Gold Is Rallying Again, But Silver Could Get REALLY Interesting - 8th Apr 24
Media Elite Belittle Inflation Struggles of Ordinary Americans - 8th Apr 24
Profit from the Roaring AI 2020's Tech Stocks Economic Boom - 8th Apr 24
Stock Market Election Year Five Nights at Freddy's - 7th Apr 24
It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- 7th Apr 24
AI Revolution and NVDA: Why Tough Going May Be Ahead - 7th Apr 24
Hidden cost of US homeownership just saw its biggest spike in 5 years - 7th Apr 24
What Happens To Gold Price If The Fed Doesn’t Cut Rates? - 7th Apr 24
The Fed is becoming increasingly divided on interest rates - 7th Apr 24
The Evils of Paper Money Have no End - 7th Apr 24
Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - 3rd Apr 24
Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend - 2nd Apr 24
Dow Stock Market Annual Percent Change Analysis 2024 - 2nd Apr 24
Bitcoin S&P Pattern - 31st Mar 24
S&P Stock Market Correlating Seasonal Swings - 31st Mar 24
S&P SEASONAL ANALYSIS - 31st Mar 24
Here's a Dirty Little Secret: Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Is Still Loose - 31st Mar 24
Tandem Chairman Paul Pester on Fintech, AI, and the Future of Banking in the UK - 31st Mar 24
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Weak November Payrolls Won’t Help Gold

Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021 Dec 10, 2021 - 12:50 PM GMT

By: Arkadiusz_Sieron

Commodities November employment report was mixed. Unfortunately for gold, however, it won’t stop the Fed’s hawkish agenda.

Nonfarm payrolls disappointed in November. As the chart below shows, the US labor market added only 210,000 jobs last month. This number is much lower than both October’s figure (546,000 gains) and the market expectations (MarketWatch’s analysts forecasted 573,000 added jobs). So, it’s a huge blow to those optimistic about the US economy.





However, this is a huge blow that nobody will care about because the disappointing payrolls were accompanied by a big decline in unemployment. As the chart above shows, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points, from 4.6% in October to 4.2% in November.

What’s more, the unemployment rate declined simultaneously with the increases in both the labor-force participation rate (from 61.6% to 61.8%) and the employment-to-population ratio (from 58.8% to 59.2%). This means that the reduction in unemployment was genuine and rather not a result of dropping out from the labor market.

Additionally, wage inflation has slowed down from 4.84% in October to 4.8% in November, remaining below expectations, which could slightly ease inflationary concerns. Last but not least, after revisions, employment in September and October combined was reported to be 82,000 higher than previously indicated, and the monthly job growth has averaged 555,000 so far this year. Therefore, even a weak November doesn’t change the fact that 2021 marked a great improvement in the US labor market.

Implications for Gold

What does the November employment report imply for the gold market? The nonfarm payrolls disappointed, but it’s not enough to stop the Fed from accelerating the pace of tapering its quantitative easing, especially given the significant reduction in the unemployment rate. So, the hawkish revolution won’t be stopped. It may even be strengthened, as a big decline in unemployment brings us closer to “full employment” and meeting the criteria for hiking interest rates.

This is, of course, not good news for the gold bulls. After hearing worries about inflation a few weeks ago, the Fed managed to calm investors. They’ve believed that Powell and his colleagues would take the inflationary threat seriously. Markets now expect a speed-up in the pace of tapering in December and as much as three interest rates hikes in 2022 (there are even investors who bet on seven hikes by the end of the next year!).

However, there is a silver lining here. With the unemployment rate at 4.2%, the potential for further improvement is rather limited. And when a new upward trend begins, we will have rising unemployment rate and high inflation at the same time. Such conditions create stagflation, which would take gold higher.

This is still a song of the future, though. Let’s focus on the recent past: gold prices increased slightly on Friday (December 3, 2021). Although the London P.M. Fix hardly changed (see the chart below), the New York price rebounded to about $1,783 on Friday from $1,769 the day before. However, it doesn’t change the fact that gold remains stuck in a sideways trend below $1,800, as concerns about inflation exist along with expectations of a more aggressive Fed tightening cycle.



Luckily for gold, despite its hawkish rhetoric, the US central bank will remain behind the inflation curve. The cautious, dovish policy is simply too tempting, as hitting the brakes too hard could trigger a financial crisis and a recession. With the CPI annual rate above 6%, the Fed should have already hiked the federal funds rate instead of waiting until Q2 2022. And even with three 25-basis point hikes, real interest rates will remain deeply in negative territory, which should be supportive of gold prices.

Thank you.

If you enjoyed the above analysis and would you like to know more about the gold ETFs and their impact on gold price, we invite you to read the April Market Overview report. If you're interested in the detailed price analysis and price projections with targets, we invite you to sign up for our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts . If you're not ready to subscribe at this time, we invite you to sign up for our gold newsletter and stay up-to-date with our latest free articles. It's free and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Arkadiusz Sieron

Sunshine Profits‘ Market Overview Editor

Disclaimer

All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

Arkadiusz Sieron Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in