Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold jumped another 1% to close above $1,270, its highest finish in 13 months, as falling wage-growth offset higher job-creation to erode the dollar and boost demand for alternative assets. Rising more than 4% this week, the metal is now up 20% so far this year.

The much-awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed 242,000 new jobs were created in February, and 30,000 more were added in the prior two months than previously reported. Although the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%, the robust hiring helped to allay fears of falling momentum in the labor markets.

However, in an alarming reversal of trend, average hourly pay fell last month. Most new jobs were in the low-paying retail and hospitality sectors, while an increasing number of highly paid positions in energy and manufacturing were eliminated because of lower oil prices and falling exports.

The Commerce Department said today that the trade deficit rose by more than expected in January, signaling ongoing weakness in trade that may bog down economic growth in the first quarter. Soft global demand and the strong dollar have pushed U.S. exports to the lowest level since late 2010.

The dollar dropped sharply in response to lower wages, especially versus the yen and euro, as traders speculated that falling labor costs will reduce inflationary pressure and delay future rate hikes by the Fed.

The other precious metals also finished strongly higher for the day and week. Silver added 3.6% for a weekly rise of 6%. Platinum gained 4.6% today and 7% this week. Palladium rallied by 3.8% to close the week a whopping 15% higher.

At the Comex close: April gold jumped $12.50 to $1,270.70; May silver added 55 cents, to $15.69; April platinum climbed $43.60 to $986.30; and June palladium rose $20.80 to $563 an ounce.