Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold fell 1% to close at a six-week low under $1,225 after a solid U.S. jobs report and other data boosted U.S. equities, reducing demand for safe-haven assets. The metal still finished 0.2% higher for the week.

The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed the economy added 215,000 jobs in March, slightly more than forecasts, while hourly wages perked up by 0.3% after losing 0.1% in February. On the downside, the unemployment rate rose from 4.9% to 5% as the labor participation rate expanded.

Separately, the ISM said factory activity expanded for the first time in six months, suggesting U.S. manufacturing may finally be mending from weak overseas demand and the strong dollar. Markit's PMI reading also showed slight improvement, rising from February's 28-month low.

However, Consumer confidence fell in March for the fourth straight month, according to the University of Michigan survey.

U.S. stocks stepped higher on the net-positive data, with the Dow and S&P 500 adding 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively. The dollar fell back after an initial rise as traders speculated that the upbeat reports would not be enough to push the Fed into a rate hike in coming months.

The other precious metals were down for the day but mixed for the week. Silver lost 2.7% for a weekly decline of 1%. Platinum fell 2.3% but gained 0.2% for the week. Palladium lost 0.6% today and 2.1% this week.

At the Comex close: June gold fell $12.10 to $1,223.50; May dropped 42 cents to $15.05; July platinum slid $22.30 to $955.20; and June palladium shed $3.10 to $560.90 an ounce.