New York gold futures rose in mixed trade and light volume on Friday as the dollar weakened after a government report showed US job losses were worse than expected in October. December gold up $6.30 at $738.20 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:38 am EST (1538 GMT). Range from $725.50 to $744.90.
Gold supported by weak US nonfarm payrolls data, but pre-weekend position squaring also seen, said RBC Capital Markets Global Futures Vice President George Gero. US employers slashed an unexpectedly steep 240,000 jobs from payrolls last month and the jobless rate shot up to a 14-1/2 year high. But gold could weaken in the near term as liquidation by hedge funds might not be over, said Gero.
Gold dropped 1.5 percent on Thursday due to a resumption of fund deleveraging and bullion did not attract flight to safety demand. COMEX estimated 9:00 am volume at 32,157 lots, and options turnover at 2,327 contracts. Spot gold at $737.10, up 0.5 percent from Thursday's close of $732.95. December silver up 6.0 cents to $10.115 an ounce. Silver firmed on bargain hunting in oversold market conditions, said traders.
Support seen in the near term as $10 silver seemed to hold, said RBC Capital Markets. COMEX estimated 9:00 am volume at 5,940 lots. Spot silver at $10.11, up 1.5 percent from Thursday's close of $9.96. NYMEX January platinum rises $19.70, or 2.4 percent, to $858.00 an ounce. Platinum, mostly used as an industrial metal for catalytic converters in cars, rebounded after Thursday's decline based on dismal global auto sales.
Spot platinum fetched $847, up 2.5 percent from Thursday's finish. December palladium up $2.35, or 1.1 percent, at $224.95 an ounce on pent-up buying after recent weakness. Spot palladium fetched $220.50, up 2.6 percent from its previous close.
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