On October 23, London spot gold fell more than 2.80%, hitting a low of $4,020. The COMEX New York gold December contract closed down 2.16%, and the SHFE Shanghai gold futures contract closed down 1.88% in the night session. A sell-off in US AI stocks triggered liquidity demand, leading to a single-day reduction of 11.97 tons in holdings by the world's largest gold ETF, SPDR, to 1,045.64 tons. US initial jobless claims fell to 194,000 last week, and pending home sales contracts in September decreased by 7.3% month-over-month. The US and Israeli militaries are developing a military strike plan targeting Iranian energy and nuclear facilities, increasing uncertainty in the Middle East and raising market expectations for interest rate hikes. (Source: Everbright Futures)
AI Interpretation: The number of initial jobless claims fell to a historic low this week, directly demonstrating the strong resilience of the US labor market during this tightening cycle. This robust data weakened market concerns about an economic recession and provided solid macroeconomic support for the Federal Reserve to maintain its high-interest-rate policy. The continued strength of the job market has forced investors to reassess their interest rate cut path, thereby suppressing demand for safe-haven assets. This data clearly points to a continued tightening monetary policy, putting direct downward pressure on precious metal prices.
