By Claudia Assis and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose Friday after a report showed U.S. employers last month added the fewest number of jobs since September, spurring buying in the metal on worries about an economic slowdown.
Gold for August delivery GCQ11 +0.64% , the most active contract, added $6.60, or 0.4%, to $1,539.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
So far this week, gold has gained 0.2%.
The up-and-down week for gold has included reports of progress in the resolution of euro-zone sovereign-debt issues, which dampened the dollar and supported gold buying, but a dip on Thursday on moderately positive data against a tide of mostly bad macroeconomic news.
On Friday, the key U.S. nonfarm-payrolls report showed that job growth slowed to a crawl in May and the unemployment rate ticked higher. The disappointing macroeconomic data called into question the recovery and raised the specter of a double-dip recession. Read more about the Labor Department report.
“The jobs report was abysmal ... there wasn’t any bright spots,” said Charles Nedoss, a senior market strategist with Olympus Futures in Chicago.
”There’s more safe-haven buying coming into gold” as investors believe some type of stimulus would have to be forthcoming to counter job weakness and other problems, he added.
Gold trimmed its gains after a survey of senior executives showed later on Friday the U.S. service sector accelerated slightly in May.
The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said its services index rose to 54.6% last month from 52.8% in April.
Readings over 50% indicate more firms are expanding than contracting. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the services index to register 54%.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery SIN11 -1.30% shed 53 cents, or 1.4%, to $35.68 an ounce.
Silver lost 4% on Thursday and on the week was looking at losses around 6%..
The dollar index DXY -0.67% , which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of six rival currencies, also got knocked by the jobs report. The index recently traded at 73.966, compared with 74.301 in North American trade late Thursday. Read more about currencies.
Copper for July delivery HGN11 +0.77% turned higher, adding 3 cents to $4.11 a pound.
Analysts at Barclays Capital said destocking in the supply chain, notably in China, has masked demand strength in copper and weighed on prices.
“Physical indicators in the Chinese market have turned more constructive of late, signaling tightening conditions. We expect the copper market to tighten substantially over the second half, and for prices to hit new highs later in the year,” the analysts said.
Platinum for July delivery PLN11 +0.17% turned lower, retreating $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,815an ounce.
September palladium PAU11 +1.40% advanced $10.90, or 1.4%, to $781.30 an ounce.
Both metals are key components in the production of parts used in automotive exhaust systems, and they often track the performance of the auto sector.
“Disruptions along the auto industry’s supply chain have weighed on auto-catalyst demand and the platinum group of metal prices. Yet, when demand picks up, structural supply constraints should tighten market balances, tilting price risks to the upside,” Barclays Capital said.
