Euro-zone worries continue to provide safe-haven support
By Deborah Levine and William L. Watts, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures turned sharply higher on Friday after very weak U.S. employment data for June sent investors scurrying for an alternative to stocks and other risky assets.
Gold futures for August delivery GC1Q +0.81% turned up $13.50, or 0.9%, to $1.543.70 an ounce.
Gold jumped after the U.S. Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose by only 18,000 in June, well below the 125,000 gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Job gains in May were revised down to 25,000. Read story on nonfarm payrolls.
“Disappointment over today’s employment figures are bringing swift market reassessment and gold continues higher as stocks weaken,” said George Gero, senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management, in emailed comments.
A fall in bond yields also underpinned demand for the precious metal, he said. See more on Treasury bond yields.
Gold has risen over the past three trading sessions, boosted in part by safe-haven demand amid renewed turmoil in the euro zone.
The unsettled situation in Europe could see also continue to benefit gold from its status as a store of value, wrote analysts at Commerzbank.
The euro EURUSD -0.23% fell as a scandal surrounding Italy’s finance minister sent the country’s bond yields up sharply, raising fears Italy could get sucked into Europe’s debt crisis. Read about euro, dollar.
Deborah Levine is a MarketWatch reporter, based in New York.
William L. Watts is a reporter for MarketWatch in Frankfurt.
