Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.5% to close near $2,026 on profit-taking as traders hedged their positions ahead of tomorrow's release of the government's official jobs report. With US markets closed tomorrow for Good Friday, the metal still finished the week 2% higher for its sixth consecutive week of gains, lifted by safe-haven demand.

First-time jobless claims dipped last week to 228,000 from 246,000 the week before, marking nine straight weeks of more than 200,000. But changes to the BLS formula for seasonal adjustments revealed that claims earlier this year were much higher than initially reported, signaling a softer labor market than previously thought.

New jobless claims are widely seen as one of the most reliable barometers of whether the economy is improving or decelerating.

The down data comes one day after ADP reported an anemic 145,000 private-sector jobs were added in March, and one day before the crucial US nonfarm payrolls release. A strong NFP may nudge the Fed into another rate hike in May, while a weak one could cause it to pause.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell for the sixth straight session, dipping slightly to just above 3.3% on rising worries about US growth. The dollar edged up less than 0.1%.

Gold rallied 2% this week to finish above $2,000 for the first time in more than a year after disappointing data manufacturing and services data from the ISM increased recession risk, driving investors into safe havens.

The other precious metals were higher for the day but mixed for the week. Silver added 0.2% for w weekly rise of 3.9%. Platinum picked up 0.9% today and 1.4% this week. Palladium climbed 2.6% for the session but lost 0.4% for the week.

At the Comex close: June gold slipped $9.20 to $2,026.40; May silver added 6 cents, to $25.09; July platinum rose $9.40 to $1,016.80; and June palladium climbed $37.10 to $1,462.40 an ounce.