Gold Prices Up 1% After 25K Job Growth In U.S. ADP Employment Report - Kitco News

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are up 1% on the day and near session highs following significantly weaker growth in private sector employment, according to the latest report from private payrolls company ADP.

Wednesday, ADP said that 27,000 jobs were created in May, missing expectations; consensus forecasts were calling for job growth of 185,000.

Gold prices were in positive territory ahead of the report and have jumped higher in initial reaction. August gold futures last traded at $1,342.10 an ounce, up 1.02% on the day.

According to reports, this is the slowest growth rate in the private sector since March 2010. Small businesses and the manufacturing sector were the hardest hit with jobless in all major sectors.

Along with gold prices pushing to session highs, the U.S. dollar is trading at session lows; the U.S. dollar index last traded at 96.99 points.

Although the ADP data is not a consistent predictor ahead of Friday's report, some economists have said that it does provide some downside risk to the official government numbers. The labor market has been a significant bright spot for the U.S. Economy and the latest employment data could add jitters to a marketplace that is already concerned about rising recession risks, said some economists.

"Even when considering the average absolute difference between this series and private non-farm payrolls on first release, this adds to the downside risk to Friday's report," said Katherine Judge, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets.