Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold slid 0.8% but held above $1,320 as surprisingly strong U.S. jobs and exports data boosted risk appetite. The metal fell for the first time in five session but still gained slightly on the week, extending its winning streak to five straight weeks. U.S. markets will close tomorrow in observance of Independence Day.

Non-farm payrolls added 288,000 jobs in June, far surpassing expectations and dropping the unemployment rate to 6.1%, the lowest level since September 2008. Exports jumped to a record high, narrowing the U.S. trade deficit slightly and raising hopes for stronger second-quarter economic growth. U.S. equities rose on the upbeat data, with the S&P 500 and Dow adding more than 0.5%, the latter closing above 17,000 for the first time.

The dollar strengthened against most rivals in response to the jobs report, hitting a three-week high against the yen and extending gains against the euro, which weakened after the ECB held financing rates unchanged. The dollar's rally was curtailed, however, by sentiment among traders that June's non-farm payroll numbers were not enough to change the Fed's monetary policies, which undermine the dollar by holding interest rates near zero. A rising dollar weighs on gold and other commodities denominated in the currency by making them more expensive to foreign buyers.

The other precious metals were mixed on the day but uniformly higher for the week. Silver dropped 0.8% to finish 6 cents higher than last Friday. Platinum slipped 0.3% but added nearly 2% this week, while palladium picked up 0.5% today for a weekly rise of 1.9%.

At the Comex close: August gold slid $10.30 to $1,320.60; September silver dropped 16 cents to $21.14; October platinum slipped $3.80 to $1,507.70; and September picked up $4.50, to $861.90 an ounce.