Forexpros – Gold futures extended gains Friday, boosted by suggestions from the European Central Bank that it was prepared to buy Italian and Spanish bonds in exchange for promises of financial reforms.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,658.95 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, climbing 0.73% higher.
European Central Bank Council member Luc Coene Friday said that the ECB would be willing to buy more bonds of deficit-hit countries if they would take concrete steps to stabilize their finances.
Gold futures had fallen from a record USD1,684.90 an ounce as dealers sold the metal to cover losses on Wall Street Thursday and in Asian stock markets in Friday trading.
But U.S. shares rebounded in Friday trade on news of the ECB’s bond purchasing move with the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.71%, and the S&P 500 climbing 0.05%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, however, was down 0.87% in late afternoon trade.
Bullion is targeted to post a weekly advancement of 4%, its fifth straight week of gains.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Labor Department announced that July’s unemployment rate had dipped to 9.1% from 9.2% in June. Forecasts were for the rate to remain unchanged for the period.
The U.S. economy added 117,000 news jobs in July according to the Labor Department, far outpacing market expectations of a 95,000 rise.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery fell 1.5% to trade at USD38.05 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 2.3% to trade at USD4.113 a pound.
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