Gold News & Info

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.5% to close just under $1,269 after weak U.S. jobs data stoked speculation that the Fed may consider slowing its taper of monetary stimulus. Non-farm payrolls grew by merely 113,000 in January, well shy of forecasts, after rising by just 75,000 in December. Both months fell far below last year's monthly average of 195,000, raising questions about momentum in the labor market. On the good side, the unemployment rate fell to 6.6%, the lowest level since October 2008.

The dollar slipped on the jobs data while global stock markets rallied, with the Dow and Global Dow both adding more than1%, boosted by hopes that quantitative easing may now take longer to unwind. Tantamount to printing money, QE has helped fuel higher prices for equities and commodities by undermining the dollar and flooding the economy with liquidity. Gold finished the week nearly 2% higher for its biggest weekly rise in a month.

The other precious metals were mixed on the day but posted gains for the week. Silver surged 4.3% this week after edging up just a penny today. Platinum picked up 0.3% for the day and week, while palladium slipped 0.2% today but closed the week with gains of 0.8%

At the Comex close: April gold gained $5.70 to $1,262.90; March silver added one cent to $19.936; April platinum picked up $4.30 to $1,379.20; and March dipped $1.55 to $708.80 an ounce.