WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled notably higher on Friday, extending recent gains, as the dollar's slide continued after data showing a downward revision in U.S. jobs growth in January, and an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate and a slowdown in wage growth raised optimism the Federal Reserve will begin lowering rates in June.
Gold prices climbed to fresh record highs today, and the futures contract recorded the longest winning streak in more than a year.
The dollar index, which dropped to 102.36, subsequently recovered to 102.74, but still remained below the previous closing level.
Gold futures for April ended higher by $20.30 at $2,185.50 an ounce, gaining for a 7th straight session. Gold futures gained about 4.5% in the week.
Silver futures for May ended down by $0.029 at $24.549 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $3.8915 per pound, down $0.0350.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 275,000 jobs in February, while economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs.
However, the report also said job growth in December and January was downwardly revised to 290,000 and 229,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 167,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February from 3.7% in January. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.
The downward revisions and the unexpected increase in the unemployment rate combined with a slowdown in the annual rate of wage growth has added to optimism the Federal Reserve will begin lowering interest rates in June.
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