Gold futures climbed on Friday after a report indicated U.S. employers last month added the slightest number of jobs since September, prompting buying in the metal on concerns about a further economic slowdown.
Gold for August delivery gained $9.70, or 0.6%, to $1,542.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold gained 0.3% for the week.
The range-bound week featured reports of progress in the resolution of euro-zone sovereign-debt issues, which discouraged the dollar and backed gold purchasing.
At the same time, silver for July delivery regained from steep losses earlier in the day, ending the session fundamentally flat. The contract decreased by 1 cent to $36.19 an ounce.
Silver lost 4.4% on the week, which embraced a 4% dip on Thursday.
The dollar index, which measures the note’s performance against a basket of six rival currencies, turned lower by the jobs report. The index recently traded at 73.753, compared with 74.301 in North American trade late Thursday.
