The Conversation (0)
The gold price hit $1,186.10 per ounce following the release of US jobs data. Silver, copper and oil prices also saw gains on the back of a variety of catalysts.
On Friday, the spot gold price climbed 0.1 percent to hit $1,186.10 per ounce following the release of US jobs data.
The report shows that the US unemployment rate fell to an almost seven-year low in April to reach 5.4 percent. It’s added fuel to speculation that the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates in the near future, Reuters states in an article.
That said, a revision of March payrolls shows that just 85,000 new jobs were added that month, the smallest number since June 2012.
“The U.S. payrolls number were very close to consensus, but there were downward revisions, so the back data was a little worse than people were expecting,” Hamza Khan, an ING commodities analyst, told the news outlet. “This was a fairly supportive report for gold prices, in the end.”
The silver price also gained on Friday, increasing 0.5 percent to hit $16.37 an ounce.
For its part, copper rose on the London Metal Exchange, climbing 0.16 percent to reach $6,400 a tonne, according to Bloomberg. The increase followed the release of weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data, which has raised expectations that the Asian giant will roll out additional stimulus measures to avert an economic downslide, Reuters reported.
“We’re keeping an eye on China data, and expecting more stimulus announcements … such as RRR (reserve radio requirement) cuts,” said James Glenn, an analyst for the National Australia Bank in Melbourne. “It’s quite possible that they will help support commodity prices in the near term.”
Meanwhile, copper on the COMEX climbed 0.03 percent to hit $2.919 a pound.
Finally, Brent crude oil rose on Friday, climbing $0.69 to hit $59.62 a barrel. The rise came after the fuel fell to $58.94 per barrel on Thursday, its largest drop since April 8, as noted by The Herald.
Related reading:
Weekly Round-Up: Copper Price Up as Gold, Silver Hit by Fed Comments
Weekly Round-Up: Copper, Oil the Bright Spots in the Market
Weekly Round-Up: Gold Ends Week Up Despite US Inflation Data
Weekly Round-Up: Gold Down, but Silver and Copper Up
Weekly Round-Up: Gold Enjoys Biggest Single-day Rally Since January