The US labor market is buckling: July payrolls rose only 73,000, but downward revisions wiped nearly a quarter million jobs off May and June, bringing the 3-month average to just 35,000 — the weakest run since the pandemic — while unemployment rises and participation falls.

Gold caught a bid after the economic data release, testing around $3,350 an ounce.

The gold market has fundamentally changed: the players are different, flows are moving in the dark, and the old demand drivers are no longer what they used to be.