Prime Business Africa
US Policymakers are now deprived of key data point ahead of the Fed’s late-October meeting following the delay of September nonfarm payrolls report on the back of a partial government shutdown.
Prime Business Africa reports that the partial US government shutdown has forced the Labor Department to delay the September nonfarm payrolls report and that this disruption, coupled with partisan deadlock in Washington, has fuelled additional defensive positioning.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAnalysing the impact on markets, Bas Kooijman, the CEO and
Asset Manager of DHF Capital S.A, told our correspondent that the resultant weak jobs data have sustained “safe-haven demand” as Gold holds near record.
READ ALSO: US Government Shutdown Could Affect Markets Globally
“Gold remained close to record highs on Thursday, supported by expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts and safe-haven flows amid the ongoing US government shutdown,”Kooijman, told Prime Business Africa.
“The ADP report showed US private-sector employment contracted for a second consecutive month in September, the sharpest decline since early 2023, reinforcing views that the Fed will keep easing into year-end. Markets continue to price in two additional cuts, in October and December.”
At the same time, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that persistent price pressures warrant caution in easing too aggressively.
As such, the next inflation data could be pivotal as a critical guide for policy, Kooijman noted saying that the persistent inflation “could benefit US Treasury yields and weigh on the bullion.
“Geopolitical risks continue to bolster bullion. In the Middle East and Eastern Europe, tensions remain high.”
