FX.co ★ Gold Futures Settle Higher As Dollar Drifts Lower

Gold prices climbed higher on Friday as the dollar drifted down, giving up some recent gains with traders trimming down some long positions, weighing the prospects of further interest rate hikes.

The dollar index, which climbed to 104.06 in the Asian session, dropped to a low of 103.19 before recovering to 103.50, cutting its loss to around 0.2%.

Gold futures for June ended higher by $7.10 or about 0.4% at $1,882.80 an ounce. Despite closing higher for the day, gold futures posted their 3rd straight weekly loss.

Silver futures for July ended down by $0.076 at $22.367 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.2670 per pound, down $0.0245 from the previous close.

Data released by the Labor Department showed non-farm payroll employment surged by 428,000 jobs in April, matching the revised jump seen in March. Economists had expected employment to climb by 391,000 jobs compared to the addition of 431,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate came in unchanged at 3.6% versus expectations the rate would edge down to 3.5%.

With the report showing continued strength in the labor market, economists predicted the Federal Reserve will continue with its plans to raise interest rates relatively sharply over the coming months.

The report also showed average hourly earnings rose by $0.10 or 0.3% to $31.85 in April. The annual rate of wage edged down to 5.5% in April from 5.6% in March.