Gold scores its first gain in five sessions
Bullion prices ended with good gains on Friday, 02 May 2014. Gold prices settled above $1,300 an ounce on Friday, scoring their first gain in five sessions, with reports of escalating violence in Ukraine and a call from Russia for an emergency United Nations meeting fueled safe-haven demand for the metal. Support from the increasing tension over Ukraine offset earlier pressure from a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
Gold for June delivery jumped $19.50, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,302.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had turned negative after the employment data, seesawed between losses and gains, then rallied following news reports surrounding Russia and Ukraine. Prices ended 0.2% higher for the week.
July silver spiked 50 cents, or 2.6%, to end at $19.55 an ounce, with prices based on the most-active contracts down about 0.7% from the week-ago close.
The tensions in Ukraine were on the rise on Friday, following reports the Ukrainian military is moving to take back a Russian separatist-occupied city in eastern Ukraine. Gunfire and reports of Ukrainian helicopters being shot down are prompting safe-haven demand for gold.
One hour ahead of the opening bell, the April Nonfarm Payrolls report pointed to the addition of 288,000 jobs (consensus 210,000), but the release was a bit mystifying as a sharp drop in the labor force pressured the unemployment rate to 6.3% from 6.7%.
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