Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold surged 1.7% to close at $1,294 after April job growth was far weaker than forecast, raising concerns about the strength of the economy and reducing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near future. The metal finished the week with a gain of 0.3%.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls added merely 160,000 jobs in April, the fewest in seven months, and the total for March was revised lower by 19,000, according to data released by the Labor Department. The retail sector shed jobs for the first time in 16 months and more than 360,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force.

Combined with recent reports showing weak economic growth, reduced productivity, and lower corporate profits, the dramatic slowdown in hiring has already prompted Merrill Lynch and Barclay's to cut their forecast for rate hikes from two to one this year.

The other precious metals were higher for the day but mixed for the week. Silver jumped 1.2% today but lost 1.6% this week. Platinum added 2% for a weekly gain of 0.6%. Palladium rose 1.1% but lost 3.2% for this week.

At the Comex close: June gold surged $21.70 to $1,294; July silver jumped 20 cents to $17.53; July platinum climbed $21.30 to $1,085.10; and June palladium rose $6.50 to $607.20 an ounce.