AGL 40.06 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.15%)
AIRLINK 130.61 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (0.83%)
BOP 6.81 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.95%)
CNERGY 4.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.22%)
DCL 9.05 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.23%)
DFML 43.40 Increased By ▲ 1.71 (4.1%)
DGKC 84.24 Increased By ▲ 0.47 (0.56%)
FCCL 33.00 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.7%)
FFBL 78.90 Increased By ▲ 3.43 (4.54%)
FFL 11.68 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (1.83%)
HUBC 110.70 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.14%)
HUMNL 14.70 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.96%)
KEL 5.43 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.74%)
KOSM 8.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.19%)
MLCF 39.85 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.15%)
NBP 60.80 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (0.85%)
OGDC 199.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.11%)
PAEL 26.80 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.56%)
PIBTL 7.82 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (2.09%)
PPL 159.99 Increased By ▲ 2.07 (1.31%)
PRL 26.84 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.41%)
PTC 18.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.05%)
SEARL 83.00 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (0.68%)
TELE 8.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.84%)
TOMCL 34.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.03%)
TPLP 9.06 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TREET 17.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-2.4%)
TRG 60.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-0.93%)
UNITY 27.55 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (0.44%)
WTL 1.43 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (3.62%)
BR100 10,550 Increased By 143.3 (1.38%)
BR30 31,988 Increased By 274.2 (0.86%)
KSE100 98,342 Increased By 1013.4 (1.04%)
KSE30 30,590 Increased By 397.3 (1.32%)

Gold hit a five-month peak on Friday as the dollar slid following weaker-than-expected US jobs data, which added to expectations the US Federal Reserve may go slow on interest rate hikes next year. Spot gold gained 0.7 percent to $1,245.74 per ounce at 11:45 am EST (1645 GMT), having hit $1,246.72 per ounce earlier, its highest since July 13.
With a rise of nearly 2 percent this week, gold looked set to post its best gain since the week of March 23. US gold futures were also 0.6 percent higher at $1,251.30 per ounce. "The non-farm payroll data came out lower than expected. It is a negative pick that is causing people to hedge a little bit more in gold and any shorts are probably covering and adding few longs to the market," said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York.
The dollar eased against a basket of currencies on Friday after data showed US job growth slowed in November and monthly wages increased less than expected, suggesting some moderation in economic activity. "Soft employment report reinforces the narrative that we have perhaps seen the highs in employment... so I think a December hike is done but anything in 2019 is up in the air," said Tai Wong, head of metals trading at BMO.
"With increased volatility and geopolitical risk, macro asset allocation is becoming more gold-positive again while we believe much of the dollar's upward move is now behind us with rate hike expectations dropping," analysts at BMO Capital Markets said in a note. Gold, which is considered a safe investment during times of financial, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, has recovered about 7 percent from 19-month lows hit in mid-August.
Meanwhile, spot palladium rose 1.2 percent to $1,223.50 per ounce and was set to post its second straight weekly gain. The autocatalyst metal, however, drifted further away from an all-time high of $1,263.56 hit this week. Silver gained 0.7 percent to $14.57 per ounce and was headed for a weekly rise of more than 2 percent. Platinum rose 0.2 percent to $788.50. The metal earlier hit a three-month low of $779 and extended losses for a fifth successive week.

Copyright Reuters, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.