Gold price pushing higher following another disappointing employment report, 194K jobs created in September

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are pushing higher as the U.S. labor market showed further weakness as fewer American's found jobs in September, potentially putting a crimp in the Federal Reserve's plan to shift its monetary policy before the end of the year.

Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said 194,000 jobs were created last month. Economists were expecting to see job gains of around 490,000. This is the second consecutive month employment has missed expectations.

The gold market was in positive territory ahead of the data and has added to its gains. December gold futures last traded at $1,700.00 an ounce, up 0.61% on the day.

Although the headline number was significantly weaker than expected, the report noted some positive trends. The unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in September, down from August's reading at 5.2%. Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to fall to 5.1%.