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The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.<doc-sep>Gold prices rose on Friday following a monthly U.S. employment report falling to its lowest level in a year. Spot gold rose 0.3 percent at $1,202.40 an ounce. It had gained 0.6 percent so far for the week, on track to mark its biggest weekly gain in six. U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,205.70 an ounce. Nonfarm payrolls rose just 134,000, well below Refinitiv estimates of 185,000 and the worst performance since September 2017 when a labor strike weighed on the numbers. The unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent, the lowest since December 1969 and one-tenth of a percentage point below expectations. August's initial count was revised up dramatically, from 201,000 to 270,000, while July's numbers came up as well, from 147,000 to 165,000. The revisions bring the three-month average growth to 190,000 while the 12-month average gain is 201,000. Despite the weekly gain, gold prices have fallen more than 12 percent from a peak in April largely due to strength in the dollar, which has benefited from a vibrant U.S. economy, rising U.S. interest rates and fears of a global trade war. "The fear is that the rising dollar is going to cause a huge rout in the emerging markets and investors want to hedge that risk," Think Markets UK chief markets analyst Naeem Aslam said. Meanwhile, world markets steadied, as a four-year high in oil prices and the biggest weekly jump in Treasury yields since February left investors wondering where to go next. Higher U.S. interest rates draw investors to the dollar, boosting its value and making assets priced in the U.S. unit, such as gold, more expensive for holders of other currencies. Rising U.S. government bond yields typically weigh on precious metals, as they make Treasuries attractive to investors seeking assets that earn a return as opposed to gold, which earns nothing and costs money to store and insure. "We expect that a topping out of U.S. real yields will begin to put a floor under gold prices starting in 2019," said Sabrin Chowdhury, commodities analyst at Fitch Solutions. "Upward pressure on real yields will fade in the second half of 2019 and into 2020 due to slowing U.S. economic growth and rising inflation." Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.6 percent to $14.64. Palladium fell 0.1 percent at $1,056.20, while platinum rose 0.3 percent at $820.50 an ounce.<doc-sep>Trading the News: U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) Updates to the U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report may fuel the recent weakness in EUR/USD as the world’s largest economy is anticipated to add another 185K jobs in September. The Unemployment Rate is also expected to narrow to 3.8% from 3.9% per annum in August, and signs of a more robust labor market may encourage the Federal Reserve to deliver another rate-hike in 2018 as Chairman Jerome Powell notes that ‘the economy is strong, unemployment is near 50-year lows, and inflation is roughly at our 2 percent objective.’ In turn, the Fed officials may continue to prepare U.S. households and businesses for higher borrowing-costs as ‘the Committee expects that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be consistent with sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term,’ and a set of positive developments may ultimately heighten the appeal of the dollar as market participants gear up for higher U.S. interest rates. However, Average Hourly Earnings are projected to slow to 2.8% from 2.9% per annum during the same period, and a batch of mixed data prints may rattle the dollar as it undermines speculation for four Fed rate-hikes in 2018. Sign up and join DailyFX Currency Analyst David Song LIVE for an opportunity to discuss potential trade setups! Impact that the U.S. NFP report has had on EUR/USD during the previous release Period Data Released Estimate Actual Pips Change (1 Hour post event ) Pips Change (End of Day post event) AUG 2018 09/07/2018 12:30:00 GMT 190K 201K -38 -66 August 2018 U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) EUR/USD 5-Minute Chart U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) increased 201K in August following a revised 147K expansion the month prior, while the jobless rate held steady at 3.9% per annum during the same period amid projections for a 3.8% print. Nevertheless, a deeper look at the report showed the Labor Force Participation Rate narrowing to 62.7% from 62.9% July, while Average Hourly Earnings unexpectedly climbed to 2.9% from 2.7% during the same period. The greenback gained ground following the ongoing improvement in the U.S. labor market, with EUR/USD slipping below the 1.1600 handle to end the day at 1.1552. Review the DailyFX Advanced Guide for Trading the News to learn our 8 step strategy. EUR/USD Daily Chart EUR/USD stands at risk giving back the rebound from the 2018-low (1.1301) amid the failed attempt to test the June-high (1.1852), with recent price action raising the risk for further losses as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) snaps the bullish formation carried over from August . The 1.1390 (61.8% retracement) to 1.1400 (50% expansion) region is now on the radar following the decline from earlier this week, with a break/close below the stated region opening up the next downside region of interest around 1.1290 (61.8% expansion), which sits just beneath the 2018-low (1.1301). For more in-depth analysis, check out the Q4 Forecast for EUR/USD Additional Trading Resources New to the currency market? Want a better understanding of the different approaches for trading? Start by downloading and reviewing the DailyFX Beginners Guide! Are you looking to improve your trading approach? Review the ‘Traits of a Successful Trader’ series on how to effectively use leverage along with other best practices that any trader can follow. --- Written by David Song, Currency Analyst Follow me on Twitter at @DavidJSong.<doc-sep>Long-awaited wage growth posted its biggest increase of the economic recovery in August while payroll gains beat expectations and the unemployment rate held near a generational low of 3.9 percent, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday. Average hourly earnings rose 2.9 percent for the month on an annualized basis, while nonfarm payrolls grew by 201,000. Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting earnings to rise 2.7 percent, payrolls to increase by 191,000 and the jobless level to decline one-tenth of a point to 3.8 percent. The wage growth was the highest since April 2009. "If we continue to see wage growth move higher, it puts the Fed in play for a fourth rate hike, absent tariff concerns," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "I don't think this is going to be the beginning of a downturn in the market, but the fact is there had been other reports leading up to this suggesting wages had been moving higher. Today's print is indicative of a tight labor market." Yields jumped after the numbers were released and stocks were mixed on expectations the data justified more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The news wasn't all good on the employment front. Counts for the two previous months were lowered by 50,000 — from 248,000 to 208,000 in June and from 157,000 to 147,000 in July. In the big picture, though, the August number was in line with the average monthly gains of 196,000 over the past 12 months. In addition, there was a surge in those counted as not in the labor force. The number rose by 692,000 to 96.3 million. A broader measure of unemployment that takes into account discouraged workers and those at jobs part time for economic reasons edged lower, from 7.5 percent to 7.4 percent. The report overall "serves as a capstone to one of the greatest labor market recovery periods of all time, with the economy creating new jobs in an impressive manner, and wage rates finally rising nicely," Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, said in a note. The biggest contributor to job gains was professional and business services, which added 53,000. Heath care grew by 33,000, wholesale trade rose by 22,000, and transportation and warehousing contributed 20,000 to the total. There also were 6,000 new mining jobs in a profession that has added 104,000 positions since October 2016, primarily in support activities. Construction also grew by 23,000, though manufacturing lost 3,000 positions. Fed eyeing wages<doc-sep>
Job creation for September fell to its lowest level in a year though the unemployment rate dropped to a point not seen in nearly 50 years, according to Labor Department figures released Friday. Nonfarm payrolls rose just 134,000, well below Refinitiv estimates of 185,000 and the worst performance since last September, when a labor strike weighed on the numbers. The unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent, the lowest level since December 1969 and one-tenth of a percentage point below expectations. A separate measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding jobs part-time for economic reasons — sometimes called the "real unemployment rate" — edged higher to 7.5 percent. Unemployment among black Americans declined three-tenths of a point to 6 percent, slightly above its record low of 5.9 percent achieved in May. The closely watched average hourly earnings component showed a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase, in line with Wall Street estimates. The average work week was unchanged at 34.5 hours. "The labor market is in excellent shape heading into the end of 2018, perhaps the best it has been in 50 years," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC. "Job growth was a bit softer in September, but some of that was from Hurricane Florence, and it should bounce back through the rest of 2018 and into 2019." After the report, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to the highest in seven years. Stock indexes edged higher at the open but soon turned negative. The survey period for September's count included when Hurricane Florence slammed the Carolinas, though the Labor Department could not quantify the storm's impact. The official government count was well below an estimate earlier this week from ADP and Moody's Analytics that reported a 230,000 growth in private payrolls. However, that report did not account for Florence's impact. Despite the headline miss, the report had some good news. Big August revision