MW:Gold prices lose ground after upbeat jobs report
By Victor Reklaitis and Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold prices lost ground Friday and were on pace for a weekly drop of nearly 2% after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
Gold for June delivery GCM4 -0.17% was last down $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,280.60 an ounce, turning negative after the employment data. July silver SIN4 +0.27% was up 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $19.11 an ounce.
The U.S. generated 288,000 jobs in April — the biggest increase in more than two years — and the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, a strong performance that suggests the economy is accelerating after tepid first-quarter growth. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 215,000 jobs. Read more: Unemployment rate is the lowest since September 2008
A day earlier, gold broke below levels not seen since early last week, as a rise in consumer spending and income threw a wet blanket on demand ahead of the jobs number.
Earlier Friday, Kitco’s Jim Wyckoff said that while the employment data is arguably the most important economic news of the month, troubles globally will continue to shape gold trading.
“The Russia-Ukraine crisis is still on the radar screen of the world marketplace,” he said. “However, there has been little fresh news coming from that region this week. Still, this situation is likely to get worse before it gets any better. Gold and other safe-haven assets will likely at least see selling interest limited due to the instability in Ukraine.”
Elsewhere in metals trading, July platinum PLN4 -0.08% gave up $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,424 an ounce, while June palladium PAM4 +0.45% rose $3.45, or 0.4%, to $817.60 an ounce.
High-grade copper for July delivery HGN4 +0.35% edged up by a penny, or 0.4%, to $3.03 a pound.
