WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures ended slightly higher on Friday, bouncing back from losses in the previous two sessions, but still ended with a weekly loss due to increased risk appetite in the market.
Upbeat U.S. jobs data helped allay fears about a recession in the world's largest economy, prompting investors to pick up riskier assets such as equities.
The dollar remained steady as well and limited gold's rise. The index rose to 97.47 and eased later to 97.40, but still remained positive with a gain of about 0.1%.
Gold futures for June ended up $1.30, or 0.1%, at $1,295.60 an ounce.
On Thursday, gold futures settled at $1,294.30 an ounce, losing $1.00, or nearly 0.1%. Gold futures shed 0.2% in the week.
Silver futures for May ended up $0.002, at $15.086 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled lower by $0.0155, at $2.8945 per pound.
On the economic front, data from the Labor Department said job growth in the U.S. showed a substantial reacceleration in the month of March, after nearly grinding to a halt in the previous month.
The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 196,000 jobs in March after edging up by a revised 33,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected employment to increase by about 180,000 jobs compared to the uptick of 20,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate held at 3.8% in March, unchanged from February and in line with economist estimates.
On U.S.-China trade front, there are signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks after the latest round of high-level negotiations.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said the two sides have conducted fruitful consultations in the past two days, especially on important issues such as the text of economic and trade agreements.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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