MW: Gold drops as much as $21 from an 11-week high
By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures fell as much as $21 an ounce Friday, pulling back from their highest level since mid-November, as a bigger-than-expected jump in the number of U.S. jobs added in January dulled investor demand for the metal in favor of so-called riskier assets such as stocks.
Gold for April delivery GC2J -1.10% fell by as much as $21.10 to touch a low of $1,738.20 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was last down $18.80, or 1.1%, at $1,740.50.
The metal had gained $9.80 to $1,759.30 an ounce on Thursday, the highest close for gold since mid-November. Read Thursday's story on gold.
The losses for the precious metal came after the U.S. Labor Department reported that 243,000 jobs were added in January and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.3%.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch, for example, predicted the U.S. would add a seasonally adjusted 121,000 jobs last month, with an unemployment rate of 8.5%. Read more about the jobs data.
The upbeat data helped lure investors to the U.S. stock market, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 1%.
In the wider metals complex, silver for March delivery SI2H -1.46% also fell by 48 cents, or 1.4%, to trade at $33.70 an ounce.
Platinum for April delivery PL2J -0.42% slipped $7.80, or 0.5%, to $1,622.10 an ounce and March palladium traded at $706.25 an ounce, down $1.40, or 0.2%.
Copper was the lone gainer among the major metals, with its March contract HG2H +2.01% up 8 cents, or 2%, at $3.86 per pound.
