Gold futures are finishing the trading week lower as the US government reported a
April gold futures dipped $0.90, or 0.07%, to $1,324.40 per ounce at 13:13 GMT on Friday. Gold prices, which surged 2.4% last month, are on track for a weekly jump of 1.2%.
Silver, the sister commodity to gold, is hovering around the important $16 threshold to close off the trading week. March silver futures tumbled $0.08, or 0.51%, to $15.99 an ounce. The white metal, which also climbed 1.5% in January, is getting ready to report a weekly boost of 1.52%.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the US economy created 304,000 new jobs in January, higher than market forecasts of 172,000 – ADP had projected 213,000 earlier this week. The unemployment rate rose to 4%, from 3.9% in December. Average hourly wages jumped three cents, or 0.1%, to $27.56 per hour; the 12-month rate of hourly wage gain increased to 3.2%.
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve completed its
Meanwhile, the US dollar did not react much to the jobs numbers as the greenback slid 0.08% to 95.48. A weaker buck, which is set for a weekly loss of 0.3% and a monthly slide of 0.7%, is good for commodities priced in dollars because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to purchase.
In other metals markets, March copper futures dropped $0.0075, or 0.27%, to $2.77 per pound. March platinum futures tacked on $5.60, or 0.68%, to $830.30 an ounce. March palladium futures soared $33.00, or 2.54%, to $1,332.90 per ounce.
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