Prices unable to shake off last week's surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report
Bullion prices ended lower on Monday, 11 November 2013, unable to shake off last week's surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report and related expectations that the Federal Reserve will move soon to scale back the flow of monetary stimulus to the economy. The Armistice and Veterans Day holidays in Europe and the U.S. on Monday squelched market activity. The U.S. government was closed on Monday and no U.S. economic data was released.
December gold futures fell $3.50, or 0.3%, to close at $1,281.10 an ounce in floor trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Silver dropped four cents to end at $21.28 an ounce.
The market place on Monday was still digesting last Friday's U.S. employment report for October, which showed a surprisingly larger-than-expected rise in non-farm payroll employment. The jobs report fell into the camp of U.S. monetary policy hawks who want to see the Fed start to taper its monetary policy sooner rather than later. That would be bearish for the raw commodity sector, including the precious metals.
This week's U.S. economic data will give traders and investors more guidance on the present health of the U.S. economy and just when the Fed might start to wind down its monthly bond-buying program. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) monetary policy meeting is held in December.
Last week's U.S. economic data gave the U.S. dollar a boost against its other currency rivals. The U.S. dollar index hit a nearly two-month high last week but saw some profit taking-pressure Monday. The stronger greenback recently is a bearish underlying factor for the raw commodity sector.
Reports Monday said China's industrial production data, released during the weekend, showed a 10.3% rise in October, year-on-year. Consumer inflation in China was reported up 3.2% in October, on an annual basis. This economic data is an underlying bullish factor for the raw commodity sector, as it suggests the world's second-largest economy and a voracious raw commodity importer is on a healthy economic growth path.
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