How gold reacted to US job openings (JOLTS) on Tuesday 29 September 2026
Jobs that employers are trying to fill. The latest figure came out at 15:00 UK time on Tuesday 29 September 2026: 7.079M, against a forecast of 7.106M. The previous reading was 7.271M.
The lowest reading since May 2026 (6.866M). Second release in a row below forecast.
Out at the same time: consumer confidence 81.9 (forecast 89.4).
What gold did
In the first 15 minutes gold moved +88 pips, and over the first hour +130 pips. Four hours after the release it was -135 pips from where it started, and a day later +199 pips.
That was a bigger first hour than usual: since April 2021, gold's first hour after job openings has typically moved about 44 pips one way or the other, across 65 releases. It was up after 32 of them and down after 33.
When US job openings (JOLTS) surprised before
This release came in about in line with the forecast.
Beats and misses have not sent gold one clear way on job openings since April 2021: after a clear miss gold's first hour was up 9 of 20 times, after a clear beat 13 of 30.
The last releases
| Date | Result | Forecast | Gold, first hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2026 | 7.079M | 7.106M | +130 pips |
| 01 Sep 2026 | 7.271M | 7.496M | -53 pips |
| 04 Aug 2026 | 7.359M | 6.948M | -5 pips |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 7.594M | 6.822M | +77 pips |
| 02 Jun 2026 | 7.618M | 6.79M | +16 pips |
| 05 May 2026 | 6.866M | 6.913M | +35 pips |
| 31 Mar 2026 | 6.882M | 6.926M | -75 pips |
| 13 Mar 2026 | 6.946M | 7.116M | -593 pips |
| 05 Feb 2026 | 6.542M | 7.536M | -271 pips |
| 07 Jan 2026 | 7.146M | 7.381M | +13 pips |
| 09 Dec 2025 | 7.67M | 7.378M | +78 pips |
| 30 Sep 2025 | 7.227M | 7.326M | +312 pips |
The next job openings release is due on Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 15:00 UK time.
Moves are in pips, where one pip on gold is $0.10, measured from the price at the minute of the release.
Get it live in the Newsroom
The Newsroom in the Trade By Focus app has this for every US release: the result against the forecast as it lands, gold's move after it, how it compares with every earlier release, and the next ones on the calendar, with the day's gold news read as it comes in. Open the Newsroom
Important
For analysis purposes only. This shows what happened after past releases and should not be taken as financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell. Past moves do not tell you what gold will do next. Trading carries a high risk of losing money.
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