Gold prices rose sharply Thursday afternoon following a government report that signaled the US economy created fewer jobs than forecasted in August. Crude oil futures were little changed.
The bullion sentiment was boosted ahead of the U.S. opening bill, rising from the lowest level in nearly three years, after the government said the non-farm payrolls increased by only 142 thousand last month, trailing analysts` average forecast of 230 thousand, compared with July`s revised gain of 213 thousand. The unemployment rate fell as expected to 6.1% from 6.2%.
The slower jobs growth fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve will stay firm on its bullion-friendly monetary policy, with rates holding at its current record-low of 0.25%.
As of 08:50 a.m. ET, Spot Gold rose as high as $1,973.90 an ounce before easing around $1,268.88.
Among Other Precious Metals:
Spot Silver -0.01% to $19.11 an ounce
Spot Platinum -0.10% to $1,407.20 an ounce
Spot Palladium -0.37% to $886.05 an ounce
Gold prices are still poised for its third weekly loss in four as the dollar marked its longest monthly winning streak this year. Following the jobs release, the dollar index hit a session low of 83.55 before reversing the slide towards 83.72, and isn`t that far from the 14-month high of 83.94 hit earlier today.
On the energy markets, oil futures were little changed, but still pointing to a weekly loss, weighed by the strength of the dollar despite government data showing lower crude stockpiles in the world`s largest consumer.
Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration`s weekly report showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles dropped by 0.9 million barrels last week, matching analysts` average forecast.
- West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October fell 0.32% to $94.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange
- Brent for October delivery fell 0.36% to $101.45 a barrel on the ICE Exchange in London