By Claudia Assis and Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures gained Friday, vying to settle higher for a third day in a row as markets overall got a boost from a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +0.25% gained $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,654.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Silver futures were also higher, with the December contract SI1Z +0.77% adding 21 cents, or 0.6%, to $32.22 an ounce.
The U.S. added 103,000 nonfarm jobs in September, the Labor Department said Friday.
The increase was larger than the 59,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists polled by MarketWatch.
The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1% as expected. Average hourly earnings increased 0.2% to $23.12 in September, reversing a drop in August.
“Gold will continue to outperform silver in an environment in which Western world growth is under attack,” Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Sieminski said in a note to clients.
Deutsche Bank economists had expected a 70,000 rise in payrolls, which would indicate a slowdown, but not a recession.
The news on the jobs front also helped metals more closely related to industrial activity. December copper HG1Z +1.33% rose 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.30 a pound. January platinum PL2F +1.52% gained $20.30, or 1.4%, to $1,524.10 an ounce.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London.
