Gold Heads for Its Best Week in a Year

(Bloomberg) -- Gold futures posted their best week since March of last year as weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data underscored mounting economic concerns that have revived demand for the metal as a haven.

U.S. employers last month added the fewest workers in three months as wage gains cooled, a government report on Friday showed. Treasury yields and the dollar fell.

The figures add to evidence of widening economic fallout from the U.S.-China trade war, which helped propel gold to a 2.7% gain this week. Even before Friday’s report, expectations have been rising that the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy this year. Lower rates help make gold more competitive against assets that offer interest.

“Usually the reaction would not be this rough, but investors are dropping the dollar index like a stone because of the concerns around the trade war,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said in an emailed report. “The initial reaction for the gold price has been towards upside, and overall investors are optimistic about the current upward momentum.”

Gold futures for August delivery advanced 0.3% to settle at $1,346.10 an ounce at 1:31 p.m. on the Comex in New York. That marked an eight straight daily increase, the longest run since January 2018.

Silver also rose this week on the Comex, while palladium and platinum climbed on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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