Investing.com - Gold shot up on Friday after data revealed the U.S. picked up fewer jobs in October than anticipated, which brought in bargain hunters who snapped up nicely-priced positions in the metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were up 2.25% at $1,168.30, up from a session low of $1,131.40 and off a high of $1,171.30.
The December contract settled down 0.27% at $1,142.60 on Thursday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,131.40 a troy ounce, the session low, and resistance at $1,175.00, Tuesday's high.
The Department of Labor reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in October, missing expectations for an increase of 231,000. The number of jobs added in September was revised to 256,000 from a previously estimated 248,000.
The report also revealed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 5.8% in October from 5.9% in September. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
While not overwhelmingly disappointing, the less-than-stellar report gave investors room to go long on gold while taking time to rethink when the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates next year.
Gold has softened in recent months as investors prepare for U.S. monetary policy to grow less accommodative while Europe and Japan move in the opposite direction, which has chipped away at the precious metal's appeal as a hedge to low interest rates.
The Fed recently closed its monthly bond-buying program and is expected to raise interest rates some time in 2015, though the timing as to when next year benchmark borrowing costs may rise remains up in the air thanks to hit-or-miss U.S. data.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was up 1.65% at $15.668 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were up 0.67% at $3.038 a pound.