Investing.com – Last week saw gold prices advance for a fourth consecutive week, as mounting concerns over the U.S. economic outlook and a broadly weaker U.S. dollar boosted the appeal of the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery settled at USD1,543.15 a troy ounce by close of trade on Friday, gaining 0.3% over the week .
It earlier rose to USD1,547.75 a troy ounce, the highest price since June 1. Gold prices were less than 2.2% away from a record-high of USD1,577.15 an ounce it hit on May 2.
The U.S. dollar came under broad selling pressure on Friday after the U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls rose significantly less-than-expected in May, increasing by just 54K as the private sector posted the smallest jobs gain in nearly a year. Analysts had expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by 169K last month.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 9.1% from 9.0% in April, the highest level in five months.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, declined 1.5% on the week to settle at 73.77 on Friday, the lowest level since May 5.
Precious metals, like other dollar-denominated commodities, can receive a boost when the greenback weakens, as it makes commodities cheaper for traders using other currencies.
Influential Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs said on Friday that it expected the price of gold to continue to rise in 2011, amid mounting expectations that “some type of stimulus will have to be forthcoming to counter job weakness and other persistent macroeconomic problems.”
"We expect gold prices to continue to climb in 2011 as the resumption of quantitative easing should keep U.S. real interest rates low," said Goldman Sachs in a report.
The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at a historical low of 0% since December 2008 and pledged to buy USD600 billion in Treasuries through the end of June to help boost the economy.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service warned that it may place the U.S. government’s rating under review for possible downgrade based on progress by Congress and the Obama administration on increasing the statutory debt limit in coming weeks.
Gold is considered a store of value amid economic uncertainty and a hedge against financial risks.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery traded at USD36.23 a troy ounce by close of trade on Friday, dropping 4.6% over the week, while copper for July delivery traded at USD4.122 a pound, shedding 1.3% over the week.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery settled at USD1,543.15 a troy ounce by close of trade on Friday, gaining 0.3% over the week .
It earlier rose to USD1,547.75 a troy ounce, the highest price since June 1. Gold prices were less than 2.2% away from a record-high of USD1,577.15 an ounce it hit on May 2.
The U.S. dollar came under broad selling pressure on Friday after the U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls rose significantly less-than-expected in May, increasing by just 54K as the private sector posted the smallest jobs gain in nearly a year. Analysts had expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by 169K last month.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 9.1% from 9.0% in April, the highest level in five months.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, declined 1.5% on the week to settle at 73.77 on Friday, the lowest level since May 5.
Precious metals, like other dollar-denominated commodities, can receive a boost when the greenback weakens, as it makes commodities cheaper for traders using other currencies.
Influential Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs said on Friday that it expected the price of gold to continue to rise in 2011, amid mounting expectations that “some type of stimulus will have to be forthcoming to counter job weakness and other persistent macroeconomic problems.”
"We expect gold prices to continue to climb in 2011 as the resumption of quantitative easing should keep U.S. real interest rates low," said Goldman Sachs in a report.
The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at a historical low of 0% since December 2008 and pledged to buy USD600 billion in Treasuries through the end of June to help boost the economy.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service warned that it may place the U.S. government’s rating under review for possible downgrade based on progress by Congress and the Obama administration on increasing the statutory debt limit in coming weeks.
Gold is considered a store of value amid economic uncertainty and a hedge against financial risks.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery traded at USD36.23 a troy ounce by close of trade on Friday, dropping 4.6% over the week, while copper for July delivery traded at USD4.122 a pound, shedding 1.3% over the week.