Gold Jolted Higher

April 05, 2023

by Craig Hemke Sprott Money

The final leg of the Fed’s stool was kicked out from under them Tuesday morning when the latest JOLTS job openings report showed a dramatic slowdown in the U.S. labor market. It’s now not a question of “if” the Fed will cut rates, it’s a matter of “when”.

How many times have you heard Fed chairman Jerry Powell describe the U.S. labor market as “robust” or “firm”? Just go back to his latest, post-FOMC press conference, and you’ll find several mentions of this alleged signal of economic strength.

However, employment is always a lagging indicator and often the final economic datapoint to collapse prior to the start of a recession.