Gold Pares Losses Following U.S. Jobs Data

Gold reacquired some muscle by midday Friday, erasing earlier losses as the U.S. dollar came under pressure from a U.S. payrolls report that flagged up weak wage growth last month, weakening the case for near-term interest rate hikes.

The greenback fell versus the euro and U.S. Treasury yields eased after the jobs report for January.

Spot gold was at $1,220.56 U.S. an ounce, up 0.3%. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were 0.2% lower at $1,217.10 U.S.

Gold is on track to rise 2.1% this week, its biggest weekly increase since early November, as the currency headed for a fourth weekly drop on worries about Donald Trump's presidential style and a lack of clarity on rate hikes.

While non-farm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, the largest gain in four months, the U.S. Labor Department said average hourly earnings squirted up only three cents or 0.1%

As for other metals, silver was down 0.4% at $17.51 U.S., having reached its highest in more than 11 weeks at $17.73 the session before.

Platinum was up 0.4% at $1,003.60 U.S, having hit a 12-week high of $1,011.60 U.S. on Thursday, while palladium was 0.7% lower at $751.10 U.S.

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