Gold Holds Advance on U.S. Payrolls as Chinese Resume Purchases

Gold held gains after posting the biggest weekly advance in more than a month as U.S. jobs data missed estimates and Chinese buyers returned after the Lunar New Year break. Silver headed for its longest rally since August.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,266.60 an ounce at 9:25 a.m. in Singapore from $1,267.27 on Feb. 7, when prices capped a 1.8 percent increase in the best showing since the period to Jan. 3, as a rout in emerging markets spurred haven demand. Silver added 0.1 percent to $20.049 an ounce, set for a seventh day of gains.

Private and government data last week on U.S. employment growth trailed forecasts, sending the Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index lower for a fifth day, as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s plan to reduce stimulus. The dollar strengthened against 10 major peers today. Volumes for the benchmark contract on the Shanghai Gold Exchange climbed to a one-month high on Feb. 7, when the market reopened after a weeklong break.

Janet Yellen will speak before Congress tomorrow for the first time since being sworn in as Fed chairman last week, after the central bank said Jan. 29 it will trim monthly bond buying by $10 billion. Policy makers decided in December to cut purchases by the same amount as the economy improved, helping to end gold’s 12-year bull run.

Bullion for April delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,266.10 an ounce on the Comex in New York, extending its biggest weekly advance in a month. A fourth day of gains would be the longest rally since August.

(Source: Bloomberg)