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Gold, silver and copper all fell Friday on the back of jobs data released Friday by the US Department of Labor. The bright spot was oil, which experienced its biggest weekly growth since 2011.
Jobs data released Friday by the US Department of Labor drove the price of gold down 1.9 percent to trade at $1,240.15 an ounce, according to Reuters. After economic uncertainty throughout January increased the metal’s value by 8.4 percent, this week brought the biggest price decline since October 2014.
Nonfarm payrolls exceeded analysts’ expectations, with 257,000 jobs added in January. The gain prompted investors to move towards riskier investments that will benefit from an anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Analysts believe the increase will occur before July 2015.
Meanwhile, spot silver dipped 2.3 percent to trade at $16.84 an ounce.
While a fall in Chinese production stabilized the copper price and boosted the metal by 3 percent for the week, on Friday the red metal succumbed to the same positive economic news that drove investment away from gold and silver. LME copper dropped 0.8 percent to trade at $5,674 a tonne, Reuters reported, while COMEX copper for March delivery fell 0.21 percent to trade at $2.5895 per pound, according to the Binary Tribune.
Finally, on Friday Brent crude climbed $1.40 to reach $57.97, as per Reuters. The growth can be attributed to optimism about the US economy and constrained supply due to fighting in Libya and a decrease in US rig counts.
The oil price remains 50 percent below the peak seen in the middle of last year, and massive production by OPEC makes sustained price growth unlikely in the near term. Nonetheless, this week’s results represent the biggest gain for oil since 2011, and demonstrate worldwide confidence in the American economic recovery.