WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures continued to surge Friday, extending strong weekly gains after disappointing jobs data dashed expectations for an autumn interest rate hike.
Fueled by geopolitical concerns, gold prices rallied 4% in August to reach the highest in about a year.
Dec. gold gained $8.20, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,330.40/oz today.
The Labor Department released a report showing much weaker than expected job growth in the month of August.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 156,000 jobs in August compared to expectations for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.
The report also said the job growth in June and July was downwardly revised to 210,000 jobs and 189,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 41,000 jobs.
Reflecting the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate inched up to 4.4 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
'With the survey evidence still strong and third-quarter economic growth on course for another decent gain after the second, there is no reason to believe that the modest drop-off in employment growth is the start of a more serious downturn,' said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
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