Gold News & Info

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.9% to close at $1,204.60 as bargain-hunters entered the market after three days of losses. The metal still ended the week 0.3% higher for its fourth straight week of gains, supported by soft U.S. economic data but capped by a rallying dollar.

Following last Friday's shockingly weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which showed a mere 126,000 jobs created in March (around half of the number forecast), gold surged above $1,220 to start the week as traders speculated that the Fed would postpone rate increases until the fall.

This week's release of the minutes from the Fed's March meeting, however, suggested the possibility of a sooner hike, with "several participants" supporting a June liftoff. Although the meeting occurred before the soft jobs report and other weak data, the minutes nonetheless caused the dollar to rebound, pressuring gold and other commodities throughout the week.

Gold's solid rebound today is especially impressive given the dollar's continued strength. The dollar index added another 0.4% and finished the week nearly 2% higher, its biggest weekly win since early March. Concurrent with dollar's rise, gold priced in euros surged to a nine-week high today.

The other precious metals were higher for the day but mixed for the week. Silver picked up 1.3% but finished the week down 1.9%. Platinum added 1.2% today and 1.4% this week. Palladium surged 1.8% today and 4% this week.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $11 to $1,204.60; May silver picked up 21 cents to $16.38; July platinum added $13.60, to $1,170.60; and June palladium surged $13.65 to $776.05 an ounce.