Gold News & Info

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.4% for the second straight session, closing above $1,094 after the U.S. nonfarm payroll report printed in line with expectations but not strong to ensure a September rate hike from the Fed. The metal finished the week with a slight loss of 0.1%

The U.S. created 215,000 jobs in July, according the Labor Department, fewer than consensus forecasts of 220,000 but still a solid number, while the unemployment rate was static at 5.3%. On the downside, wage gains remained sluggish and the labor participation rate�the percentage of able Americans looking for work�was stuck at a 38-year low of 62.6%.

Earlier in the session, gold initially fell as the dollar rallied mainly on relief that the jobs data wasn't worse, especially after this week's weaker-than-expected ADP report showed businesses adding merely 185,000 jobs in July. The Fed said recently that it wants to see "some improvement" in the labor markets before raising rate, and this report could meet that mark.

But as traders digested the report, they began to see it as largely neutral, providing no new or compelling rationale for the Fed to raise rates next month. According to data from CRT, Fed-fund futures for September crept only slightly higher after the NFP, leaving traders roughly split over September and December for the first rate hike in nearly a decade.

The dollar quickly retreated and gold rallied as high as $1,099, bouncing off resistance at $1,100 before settling lower. Safe-haven Treasury bonds also rose slightly after the jobs release.

The other precious metals were mostly higher, with silver and platinum gaining 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively, while palladium dropped 0.8%.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $4 to $1,094.10; September silver added 12 cents to $14.80; October platinum picked up $4.90 to $960.90; and October palladium slid $4.60 to $598.85 and ounce.