Gold gained for a second straight session in early U.S. trading on Friday. Traders mulled a report from the Labor Department revealing a decrease in jobs that was roughly in line with economist estimates.
April gold futures traded at $939.70, up $11.90 for the session. Earlier, the precious metal hit as high as $945.50.
The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 651,000 jobs in February following a revised decrease of 655,000 jobs in January. Economists had expected a decrease of 650,000 jobs compared to the decrease of 598,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Labor Department also said that the unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent in February from 7.6 percent in January. The increase exceeded the expectations of economists, who had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 7.9 percent.
The greenback fell sharply against most of its major counterparts on the report. The dollar fell to an eight-day low against the euro and also headed lower against the pound. Gold generally moves opposite the dollar because of the precious metal's hedge appeal.
Gold has gained more than $30 in two days. In the previous eight sessions, gold had lost nearly $100 since closing at an 11-month high of $1,002.20 on Feb. 20.
