Gold prices edged higher on Friday, bouncing back after two successive days of losses, as the dollar weakened a bit after data showed the U.S. economy saw a much less than expected addition in employment in September.
Data released by the U.S. Labor Department revealed that non-farm payroll employment climbed by 134,000 jobs in September, while economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs.
However, the report also showed a significant upward revision to the pace of job growth in August, with employment spiking by 270,000 jobs compared to the originally reported jump of 201,000 jobs.
The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in September from 3.9% in August. Economists had expected unemployment rate to edge down to 3.8%.
The dollar index was down by about 0.12%, at 95.35, after having advanced to 95.62 earlier in the day.
Gold futures for December ended up $4.00, or 0.3%, at $1,205.60 an ounce.
On Thursday, gold futures ended down $1.50, or 0.1%, at $1,201.60 an ounce. Gold futures gained about 0.8% in the week.
Silver futures for December settled at $14.649 an ounce, gaining $0.059 for the session.
Copper futures for December ended down $0.0145, at $2.7630 per pound.
According to data released by the Commerce Department, U.S. trade deficit widened in August, reflecting an increase in imports and a decrease in exports. The data said the trade deficit widened to $53.2 billion in August
from a revised $50.0 billion in July. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $53.5 billion.
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