Gold Rises to $4,192 and Silver to $61.24 Following Weak US Jobs Data

Spot gold rose to $4,192.30 per ounce, up $15.80 or 0.38%, while silver climbed to $61.24, an increase of $0.26 or 0.43%, according to the daily report by the "USA Gold" website issued on October 2. The report noted that the gold-to-silver ratio stabilized near 68.4, and that the data came after the US economy added just 29,000 jobs in September compared to expectations close to 90,000 jobs.

The report explained that the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, prompting traders to lower the probability of an interest rate hike at the October meeting to below 15%, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond remained near its highest level in two decades at around 5.3%. The August job reading was revised down to 133,000 jobs from 162,000.

In the same minute the jobs data was released at 8:30 AM US Eastern Time, spot gold jumped 0.95% to $4,216.39, and silver rose 1.19% to $61.72, according to the "Gold Silver" website as well. This indicates that the market reaction to the data was immediate before prices settled near the levels mentioned above.

This move comes as traders reprice the trajectory of US interest rates, linking labor market weakness to a slower pace of monetary tightening. For investors in the region, the level of the US dollar and US bond yields remain the two most influential factors in the short-term direction of gold and silver, while the strength of physical demand is measured by the movements of both metals together, not gold alone.

What do these terms mean?

Non-farm payrolls report: Monthly US data measuring the number of new jobs created outside the agricultural sector, serving as a key indicator of economic health. Treasury yield: The interest paid by the world's largest borrower; the higher it rises, the higher the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. Gold-to-silver ratio: The number of silver ounces required to purchase one ounce of gold, used to measure the relative price between the two metals. Spot transactions: Buying and selling metal for immediate delivery rather than via a futures contract.