(Kitco News) - The gold market is trading higher on Wednesday morning after the latest employment data showed the U.S. labor market adding fewer jobs than expected, according to private sector payrolls processor ADP.On Wednesday, ADP announced that 98,000 jobs were created in September. The report was worse than expectations, as consensus forecasts called for job gains of 113,000. May’s figure was unrevised from the initial reading of 122,000 net jobs."The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “We know it's taking people longer to find work, but there also are signs of labor supply constraints in certain industries. For now, the overall effect is a slowdown in job creation.”The gold market continued to trade near session highs after the latest employment data. Spot gold last traded at $4,026.83 per ounce, up 0.48% on the day.The report noted that job creation was uneven in June. “Financial activities and information were among the gainers, while leisure and hospitality delivered a sixth month of weak hiring,” the report said.

(Kitco News) - Gold is trading near session highs on the edge of $4,100 after the latest data showed the U.S. manufacturing sector performing below expectations last month, while prices continued their recent moderation in June.The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced on Wednesday that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 53.3 in June, after posting a reading of 54 in May, its highest reading since May of 2022. The headline number was lower than expected, as consensus forecasts looked for a hold at 54. “In June, U.S. manufacturing activity remained in expansion territory, growing at a slightly slower pace as compared to the month before,” said Susan Spence, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI®, the New Orders and Production indexes grew slower as compared to the previous month, the Supplier Deliveries Index slowed at a slower rate, and the Employment and Inventories indexes improved with the latter entering expansion territory.”Spot gold shot to a session high of $4,108.20 just before the 10 a.m. ET release, and last traded at $4,094.56 per ounce for a gain of 2.17% on the day.The components of the report showed a mixed picture in key areas, with New Orders and Employment improving even as Production declined, while Prices moderated further. “The New Orders Index expanded for the sixth consecutive month after four straight readings in contraction, registering 56 percent, down 0.8 percentage point compared to May’s figure of 56.8 percent,” Spence noted. “The June reading of the Production Index (52.2 percent) is 2.1 percentage points lower than May’s reading of 54.3 percent. The Prices Index remained in expansion (or ‘increasing’ territory), registering 73 percent, a 9.1-percentage point decrease from May’s reading of 82.1 percent. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 50.5 percent, down 1.7 percentage points compared to the 52.2 percent recorded in May. The Employment Index registered 49.7 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from May’s figure of 48.6 percent.”

(Kitco News) - The gold market is trying to attract fresh buying momentum, but support at $4,000 an ounce remains at risk as the U.S. labor market continues to show resilience, with the number of available jobs holding relatively steady last month.Job openings—a key measure of labor demand—were essentially unchanged at 7.59 million in May, as April's figure was revised lower, according to the Labor Department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The latest labor market data came in stronger than expected, as economists had forecast job openings to decline to 7.29 million.The gold market is showing little reaction to the stronger-than-expected employment data. Spot gold last traded at $4,039.50 an ounce, up 0.60% on the day.