Endeavour production target at risk as workers embark on strike
The work stoppage in Senegal risks having a serious impact on gold production in the second trimester of 2024.
Spot gold gained $10 to $1,294 per ounce after muted July job numbers were released.
Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 209,000 last month, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Analysts had been expecting about 230,000 jobs.
Spot silver was mostly unchanged at $20.27 per ounce.
“I think it was a better jobs report. I think there is probably a disconnect between the jobs report and day-to -day economic data and the gold price,” said Rick Rule in an interview with MINING.com today.
“It would appear in today’s markets with so much access to information—but maybe so little patience for knowledge—that people seize on things like the jobs report or like the Ukraine to explain day-to-day or hour-to-hour moves in precious metals prices, and I would suggest the moves are not neatly correlated as people might otherwise think.
“With specific reference to the US economy. I think there is a couple of things that have to be noted. First of all labour force participation is problematic.”
The labour-force participation rate—a measure of the number of people available for work—ticked up by about 300,000 in July. It was a small gain, one-tenth of a percentage point. The rate is still at a multi-decade low.
“The second thing we need to understand is unfortunately the number of lower wage service jobs relative to manufacturing jobs. I think the silver lining in this is that the United States does seem to be experiencing a nascent recovery in manufacturing. I don’t think this has shown up in these job numbers yet.”
Chart from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showing the declining labour-force participation rate
