Gold News & Info

Source:MarketWatch

New York— Gold futures fell Friday for the first session in five, ending slightly lower as government data showed the U.S. economy lost fewer jobs than expected in April, easing economic worries and curbing gold's appeal as a safe asset. However, worries over inflation helped keep Friday's loss limited. For the week, gold rose 3%. In Friday trading, June gold slid 60 cents, or 0.1%, to end at $914.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 539,000 last month, the Labor Department reported. Analysts on average had expected a decline of about 600,000. The unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 8.9%, in line with expectations. "The jobs data can be filed under the category 'less bad,' which is the theme permeating the markets," said Brian Kelly, chief executive officer of Kanundrum Research, a commodities and macroeconomic research firm. See full story.