Investing.com - Gold futures ended Friday’s session higher, after disappointing U.S. nonfarm payrolls data reduced concerns over a further reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose to a session high of USD1,272.00 a troy ounce on Friday, before trimming gains to settle at USD1,262.90 by close of trade, up 0.78% on the day and 1.48% higher for the week.
Comex gold prices ended Thursday’s session little up 0.02% at USD1,257.20 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,240.40 a troy ounce, the low from February 3 and resistance at USD1,274.50, the high from February 5.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery ended Friday’s session up 0.04% to close the week at USD19.93 a troy ounce. On Thursday, silver prices settled 0.62% higher at USD19.92 an ounce.
The March silver futures contract picked up 4.06% on the week, the first weekly gain in three weeks.
The U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said, well below expectations for jobs growth of 185,000, after December's lackluster gain of 75,000 jobs.
It was the weakest two-month stretch of job creation in three years as inclement weather contributed to a slowdown in hiring.
The unemployment rate inched down to a five-year low of 6.6% from 6.7% in December, while the number of people participating in the labor force edged up to 63.0% from an almost 35-year low of 62.8% last month.
The disappointing data cooled expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut its stimulus program again this month. The central bank said it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.
The Fed tapered its monthly asset purchase program by another USD10 billion to USD65 billion a month at its last policy meeting.
In the week ahead, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to testify on the central bank’s semiannual monetary policy report in Washington. Her comments will be closely watched.
Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers reduced their bullish bets in gold futures in the week ending February 4.
Net longs totaled 59,408 contracts, compared to 60,672 in the preceding week.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper for March delivery hit a daily high of USD3.248 a pound on Friday, the most since January 30, before trimming gains to end at USD3.236 a pound, up 0.22%.
Comex copper prices added 1.2% on the week, the first weekly advanced in four weeks.