GOLD MARKET REPORT – October 7, 2011
Gold and other commodities roared strong early in the morning after the initial release of a better-than-expected jobs report from the US labor department, but investor sentiment soon sputtered once they caught wind of the details. The report stated that 103,000 new jobs were created in September, but after 
reading the fine print they discovered that 45,000 of those were Verizon employees just returning to work after a labor strike. The disappointment coupled with a higher dollar today simply couldn’t hold gold prices. Reports that Fitch Ratings downgraded the credit of Italy and Spain shook the market, and now reports of Fitch about to review Belgium’s status are surfacing as well. These downgrades served as poignant reminders of the relentlessly threatening contagion of the euro debt crisis which quelled any morning confidence.
Oil on the other hand, managed to cling to the news of the jobs report and shut its eyes to the downgrades. After flip-flopping all day, crude barely managed to end in the black on hopes of a brighter future in US manufacturing soon. While oil’s analysts are keeping their fingers crossed, economists and historians are deciding whether the world economy faces the "Great" depression of the 1930s or the "Long" depression of the 1870s. Neither sounds very appealing, but the sheer mixture of opinions: the good, the bad, and the ugly should be an indicator that we’re simply stuck in a holding pattern. Anything could happen.
At 16: 00 (EST) the spot gold price was $1,637.00 (down $11.90 on the day)