Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.6%, closing just under $1,189, after a mixed jobs report reduced the likelihood of a rate hike in June, weakening the dollar and increasing demand for alternative stores of value. The metal finished the week 1.2% higher.

The eagerly anticipated non-farm payrolls report for April printed slightly below forecasts, with the economy adding 228,000 jobs, spread evenly around most sectors except energy. March totals were revised down to 82,000 from the 132,000 first reported, making it the worst month in three years. While the overall unemployment rate dipped 10 basis points to 5.4%, job-growth over the first four months of 2015 has fallen 40% from Q4 2014, a discouraging trend.

Equities surged after the data, which showed enough promise in the economy to stimulate risk-appetite but not enough to provoke higher interest rates at the June Fed meeting. The Dow gained 1.5% and the Global Dow added more than 1.3%. Treasury prices also rose alongside gold on safe-haven inflows, and the dollar weakened on the report, supporting gold and other commodities by making them less expensive to users of other currencies.

Most economists now project the first rate increase by the Fed to be pushed back until September. More than half of traders, however, do not expect it until December, a down from 62% before the jobs report, based on the CME Fed funds futures contracts.

The other precious metals also rose on the day and week. Silver added 1% today for a 2.1% weekly rise. Platinum picked up 1.1% for a 1.2% gain this week. Palladium surged 2.1% for a 3.7% weekly rise.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $6.70 to $1,188.90; July silver rose 17 cents to $16.47; July platinum picked up $12.10, to $1,143.50; and June palladium surged $16.60 to $802.35 an ounce.