Bullion prices ended lower at Comex on Friday, 06 February 2015. Gold futures on Friday sank more than 3% to settle at their lowest level since mid-January after an encouraging U.S. jobs report provided support for the dollar, drawing investors' attention away from the haven metal.
Gold for April delivery shed $28.10, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,234.60 an ounce. Prices saw a loss of 3.5% for the week.
March silver also lost 50 cents, or 2.9%, to end at $16.694 an ounce, with prices down around 3% for the week.
Economic data on Friday was limited to Nonfarm Payrolls and Consumer Credit. Nonfarm payrolls added 257,000 new jobs in January after adding an upwardly revised 329,000 (from 252,000) in December while the consensus expected a reading of 235,000. Private payrolls increased by 267,000 in January, down from an upwardly revised 320,000 (from 240,000) in December while the consensus an increase of 225,000. The decline in the average hourly wage in December (-0.2%) was more than offset by a surge in wage growth (0.5%) in January, which easily topped the consensus forecast of a 0.3% gain. However, the sustainability of this growth remains in question considering 20 states raised their minimum wage in January.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7% in January from 5.6% in December as a result of an uptick in the labor force participation rate.
Consumer credit increased by $14.80 billion in December, up from a downwardly revised $13.50 billion in November while the consensus expected an increase of $15.00 billion.