Gold just gave back everything it earned this year in a single session. Spot prices dropped as much as 3.6% on June 5, sliding to $4,319 per ounce after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added 172,000 jobs in May, roughly double what economists had penciled in.
The consensus forecast sat around 85,000 new jobs.
The numbers behind the selloff
May’s jobs figure wasn’t the only upside surprise. April’s numbers were revised upward to 179,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.
The CME FedWatch tool reflected the shift in sentiment almost immediately. The probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike by December 2026 jumped to between 68% and 72%, up from roughly 50% before the jobs report dropped.
