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Gold futures edged lower Friday as the dollar gained versus major rivals after a stronger-than-expected rise in U.S. nonfarm payrolls.
Gold for August delivery
GC00,
-0.55%
GCQ22,
-0.55%
was down $9.30, or 0.5%, at $1,862.60 an ounce , after ending Thursday at its highest since May 6. July silver
SIN22,
+0.04%
was up 1 cent at $22.285 an ounce.
The U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May, versus expectations for nonfarm payrolls to rise by 328,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6% versus expectations for a tick down to 3.5%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.3% versus forecasts for a 0.4% rise.
Analysts said gold may continue to struggle as expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes underpin the dollar, with the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
+0.33%
last month trading around a 20-year high. A stronger dollar is seen as a headwind for commodities priced in the unit, making them more expensive to user of other currencies. The index rose 0.1% on Friday.
“Over the past week, spot gold rose slightly above the upper end of its trading range between the $1800 and $1850 area,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in a note. “We continue see this trading range prevailing in the near-term as the dollar’s strength caps the market’s ability to break out from the trading range.”
July copper
HGN22,
-0.89%
was down 0.9% at $4.51 a pound.
July platinum
PLN22,
+0.05%
was flat at $1,028.40 an ounce, while September palladium
PAU22,
-1.10%
dropped 1.1% to $2.025 an ounce.
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