Gold prices increased Thursday on news from the US government’s Labor Department report stating that there is a large increase in first-time applications of people applying for unemployment benefits. The US government also reported higher wholesale prices with a 5.7% rise in gas costs.
Jobless claims last week rose to 412,000 up more than 27,000. The lack of hiring and global inflation is creating a sense of unease and leading many investors to precious metals.
Many believe the slowly improving jobs market, the crisis in Japan, middle east conflict, and problems with Europe’s financial market is contributing to the surge in gold prices. Gold buying seemed to be on investors minds over stocks on the latest job info and mixed earnings reports in the US.
Silver prices also jumped more than one dollar today and are currently hovering around $41.69 an ounce and investors are eyeing the $42 level next. If the rising gold price trend continues the next target for gold is $1500 an ounce.