Gold gains in Asia as Greece heads into weekend bailout referendum

Investing.com - Gold prices gained slightly in Asia on Friday as voters in Greece get set this weekend to give a thumbs up, or down, on an international creditor bailout package that could determine the country's ability to use the euro as its currency.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery rose 0.10% to $1.164.70 a troy ounce.

Silver for September delivery gained 0.39% to $15.622 a troy ounce. Copper for September delivery fell 0.20% to $2.629 a pound.

Overnight, gold futures continued their extended slide on Thursday falling to a three-month low, in spite of a weaker dollar pushed down by a relatively soft U.S. jobs report.

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm payrolls in June rose by 223,000, slightly lower than consensus estimates from economists of a 230,000 gain. The slight pullback comes a month after a robust report in May when the economy added 280,000 non-farm jobs. The Labor Department also revised the May figure downward on Thursday by 26,000 to 254,000.

Average hourly wages also remained flat on a month to month basis, one month after surging 0.3% in May. Analysts forecasted a 0.2% increase in wages for June.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked down to 5.3% slightly above consensus forecasts for a 0.1% decline to 5.4%.

In May, the unemployment rate inched up by 0.1% to 5.5%. The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader gauge of the employment outlook throughout the U.S., fell 0.3% to 10.5%. The rate measures the total level of unemployment in the labor market along with the rate of marginally attached workers, as well as the level of part-time workers in the workforce.

Marginally attached workers are defined as people currently without jobs who are not currently looking for work, but have sought employment in the last 12 months. The U-6 rate is a measure preferred by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, as she weighs the strength of the labor market.

The relatively benign employment report could convince dovish policymakers at the Fed to delay the timing of a highly anticipated interest rate hike beyond September.
Last month, Yellen reiterated that the Fed would like to see continued improvement in GDP, wage and inflationary growth before it lifts short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.