Daily Gold Update

Source: MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures moved between gains and losses Friday, as the higher-than-projected U.S. unemployment rate sparked safe-haven buying though falling crude oil limited the metal's gains. Gold for February delivery was last down 80 cents, or 0.1%, at $912.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal is set to fall more than 1% for the week. The Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate hit 7.6% in January, the highest since 1982, as nonfarm payrolls shed 598,000 jobs, the largest amount in 34 years. Economists had expected an unemployment rate of 7.5%. About 3.6 million jobs have been lost since the recession began just over a year ago, with roughly half coming in the months following the September collapse of Lehman Brothers. "The persistent increase in the unemployment rate would further boost gold," said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at London-based CMC Markets.

The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate to near zero in order to boost the economy, and the Bank of England lowered its benchmark rate to a record low of 1% on Thursday. "Gold continues to benefit from destructive monetary policies which are being pursued globally," said Peter Spina, chief investment analyst at GoldSeek.com. "As capital seeks to preserve its purchasing power, currencies once deemed more powerful than gold are now being questioned." Accordingly, gold's "returning as the king currency and its scarcity will propel prices significantly higher," he said, adding that gold prices could rise to as high as $1,200 this year, breaking its record high above $1,003 an ounce hit in March 2008. See full story.