Gold futures pushed higher on Friday, rising more than $20 an ounce at one point, after a very disappointing U.S. jobs report.
Gold for June delivery rose $11.20, or 0.7%, to $1,563.60 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading had been largely flat ahead of the jobs data.
Tracking the most-active contracts, prices are down about 2% from last Friday’s close.
U.S. jobs gains for March came in at the lowest level in nine months — a gain of 88,000 new jobs versus expectations for a rise of 190,000. That forecast had already been cut down from an earlier target of 195,000 new jobs after a batch of downbeat data this week.
Investors look to non-farm payrolls for any hints about when the Federal Reserve will taper down its asset purchases. Gold prices tend to benefit in periods of accommodative policy, though that hasn’t worked as an exact science.
The dollar fell again on the jobs data, underpinning gold gains. A softer greenback tends to bolster dollar-denominated commodities such as gold, as it makes them less expensive to holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell to 82.430 from a level of 82.622 seen ahead of that data.
Elsewhere in the metals complex Friday, silver for May delivery rose 20 cents, or 0.8%, to $26.97 U.S. an ounce. Prices are down about 4.8% from a week ago.
July platinum futures tacked on $9, or 0.6%, to $1,526.80 U.S. an ounce, trading down about 3% for the week. Palladium for June delivery fell $2.90, or 0.4%, to $722.55 U.S. an ounce, set to lose nearly 6% for the week. May copper fell half a cent, or 0.1%, to $3.35 U.S. a pound, trading 1.7% lower than a week ago.
Related Stories
