Gold prices have fallen sharply in mid-day trading following the release of better than expected jobs report for the month of January. Silver prices are also in red in mid-day trading.
Earlier today, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in the month of January, while the unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to 8.3%. The continued improvement in the labor market means that the Federal Reserve may not continue with loose monetary policy for a long time, which could push the dollar higher. A stronger dollar would make gold unattractive to investors and hence the sharp decline today.
At last check, spot gold was trading 1.24% lower at $1,737.60 an ounce. Gold futures for delivery in April on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange are currently down 0.97% to $1,742.20 an ounce.
Gold ETFs are also down sharply in trading currently. At last check, the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (
NYSE: GLD) was trading 1.32% lower at $168.80, the Market Vectors ETF Trust (
NYSE: GDX) was trading 1.67% lower at $56.51, and the iShares Gold Trust (ETF) (
NYSE: IAU) is currently trading 1.25% lower at $16.93.
Silver prices are also sharply lower in trading currently. At last check, spot silver was trading 1.55% lower at $33.74 an ounce.
The iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE: SLV) is currently trading 2.01% lower at $32.69, and the ProShares Ultra Silver (ETF) (
NYSE: AGQ) is currently trading 3.98% lower at $60.53.
The ProShares UltraShort Silver (ETF) (
NYSE: ZSL), which takes a short position on silver, is currently trading 4.06% higher at $10.26.
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