Does US Jobs Report Bode Well for Gold Prices?

The US non-farm payroll figure for June improved at a marginally slower rate than in May. In June, 213,000 jobs were added compared to 244,000 in May. The data for June, however, beat the market expectation of 195,000 job additions. The broader market S&P 500 Index (SPY), the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DIA), and the NASDAQ Composite Index (QQQ) rose 0.85%, 0.41%, and 1.34%, respectively, on Friday, July 6, after the announcement of the non-farm payroll report. The US unemployment rate threw a surprise for June as it grew to 4.0% from 3.8% a month earlier.