Gold and copper fell last week, but iron ore bumped higher.
Iron ore prices remained steady on Friday because of a holiday in China.
The key price for 62 Fe ore closed at $US92.90 a tonne on Thursday, according to Metal Bulletin data.
That was up from $US86.81 the Friday before.
Iron ore markets in China and elsewhere in Asia will be back in business today.
Data out on Friday on China’s March and first quarter trade will reveal how much iron ore was imported and steel products exported, along with data on coal imports which should be low after the delays imposed by the Chinese government.
In New York, gold futures ended Friday with a small fall and lost ground over the week.
Gold for June delivery on Comex lost $US1.30, or 0.1%, at $1,295.60 an ounce on Friday for a weekly slide of 0.2% based on the most active contract, according to FactSet data.
Meanwhile, Comex May silver lost less than 0.1%, to end at $US15.086 an ounce. For the week, the metal slipped 0.2%.
Not helping sentiment toward gold and silver was the solid US jobs report for March with 196,000 new jobs reported a dip in the annual wage rise to 3.2% from 3.4% in February. The January gain was revised up to 33,000 from 20,000.
In other metals trade, June palladium rose $US13.60, or 1%, to finish at $US1,345.90 an ounce, turning around after hitting an intraday low of $US1,292.50. The metal rose 0.3% for the week.
July platinum gained 90 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $US905.40 an ounce, up 6% over the week.
And May Comex copper futures lost 1.55 cent, or 0.5%, to end at $US2.8945 a pound. The lost 1.4% for the week.
In London copper traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.1% to $US6,447 a tonne on Friday for a weekly loss of 0.6% because of rising stocks of the metal in official warehouses in China.
Reuters reported that copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses leaped by 30,375 tonnes to 198,325 tonnes as of last Wednesday, the highest in six months and nearly double the level three weeks ago.
Three-month LME aluminum rose 1%, nickel was up 0.5% and zinc increased by 0.8%.
Volume was low as China is closed for that public holiday that shut iron ore markets (It was Grave Sweeping Day).
