Gold futures got a big boost Friday after a weaker-than-expected rise in January non-farm payrolls before trimming those gains as U.S. equities climb and investors appear to rethink the labour data’s potential influence on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
Gold for April delivery rose $1.40, or 0.1%, at $1,258.60 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices held onto a gain of around 1.6%.
Prices Friday had advanced to as high as $1,272 U.S. an ounce after the U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payrolls rose by 113,000 in January, well below the 190,000 consensus forecast from economists.
March silver, which was also buoyed by the data, turned south, losing five cents, or 0.2%, to $19.88 U.S. an ounce, but it was still trading up by more than 4% for the week.
Metals trimmed or erased gains as U.S. equities moved higher in the wake of the data. Strategists questioned initial notions that the weak figures could cause the U.S. Federal Reserve to rethink its plan to continue slowing the pace of government bond purchases.
The data also showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 6.6% from 6.7%.
Elsewhere in metals trading, High-grade copper for March delivery added one cent, or 0.4%, to $3.24 U.S. a pound, set to climb 1.4% on the week.
April platinum rose $4.10, or 0.3%, to $1,379 U.S. an ounce, trading around 0.4% higher than the week-ago close. March palladium fell 20 cents to $710.15 U.S. an ounce, but for the week was poised for a 1% climb.
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