Gold futures fell back under $US1,300 an ounce on Friday, as the solid US employment data for May and settlement of political issues in Spain and Italy (and the move for North Korea and the US to continue the June 12 leaders meeting) pushed the greenback higher and crimped some commodity prices.
Oil weakened as well (see separate story) but for reasons peculiar to that sector such as supply.
The jobless report – 223,000 new jobs, an 18 year low for the jobless rate of 3.8% (and a rise in wages to 2.7% annually) suggested that the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates later this month and later this year.
Comex August gold lost $US5.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $US1,299.30 an ounce, with the contract posting its lowest finish since May 23 and a loss of about 0.7% for the week.
In other metals trading, Comex July silver fell 0.1% to $US16.441 an ounce, with the contract ending about 0.6% lower for the week. Comex July copper ended at $US3.099 a pound, up 1.1% for the day and gaining 0.7% for the week.
In London LME nickel hit a six-week peak on Friday as speculators resumed buying in a rally driven by production cuts in China, falling stocks and rising steel prices.
Three month nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has gained 14% over the past month, closed up 1.5% on Friday at $US15,445 a tonne after touching $US15,690, the highest since April 19.
LME aluminum ended 0.6% higher at $US2,305 a tonne, LME copper finished up 0.6% at $US6,896 a tonne, LME zinc closed little changed at $US3,101 a tonne, lead dropped 0.7% to $US2,442.50 and tin rose 0.7% to $US20,750.
And the Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index price rose 84 cents on Friday to end the week at $US66.16 a tonne delivered to northern China
That was up $US2.20 a tonne or 3.4% from the previous Friday’s close of $US63.94 a tonne.
