MW: Gold prices resume march up, at five-month highs
By Claudia Assis & Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold was back at testing a record high on Friday, as it changed direction higher and pushed past the $1,200-an-ounce mark.
Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, gained $6.90, or 0.6%, to $1,204.20 an ounce, a five-month high for the metal and closing in at its Dec. 3 all-time, settlement record of $1,217.40 an ounce.
"Fear is the thing driving gold," said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at Telvent DTN in Omaha.
Gold had started the day lower but turned higher shortly after a relatively upbeat jobs report.
The Labor Department said Friday the U.S. economy added 290,000 jobs in April. But unemployment climbed to 9.9%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the economy to add 185,000 jobs, with the jobless rate holding steady at 9.7%. See Economic Report.
The euro found some strength (CUR_EURUSD 1.2613, -0.0022, -0.1742%) as the leaders of the euro zone met in Brussels to finish fashioning a rescue package for the debt-strapped nation.
On Thursday, gold futures for June delivery rallied $22.30 an ounce on Comex to settle at $1,197.30 an ounce as the stock market's drop and the concerns about contagion in the euro zone fed safe-haven buying into gold.
Other metals were mixed Friday, with silver following its shinier precious-metal partner. Silver for July delivery added 18 cents, or 1%, to $17.67 an ounce.
Copper for July delivery retreated 3 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.08 a pound, its lowest since mid February.
Palladium for June delivery was off $10.10, or 2%, to $504 an ounce.
The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 117.64, -0.85, -0.72%) , the largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, lost 0.7%.
