Strong U.S. Jobless Claims Trigger Gold Sell-Off

The US labor market continues to show signs of improvement as weekly jobless claims beat market expectations for the second straight week, with initial claims rising by 4,000 to 229,000 for the week ending May 20. The better-than-expected employment data sparked a selloff in gold, with spot gold dropping from $1960.48 just before the release to session lows just over $1940 per ounce. Continuing jobless claims fell to 1.794 million during the week ending May 13, indicating a steady economic recovery.