Gold Prices Heat Up
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gold prices were gaining ground Friday afternoon after remaining flat for much of the morning after the Labor Department report of stronger-than-expected growth in jobs.
The unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 9.6%, according to the report.
Gold for December delivery was rising by $11.10 at $1,394.20 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Friday has traded as high as $1,398.70 and as low as $1,371.90.
The
was stronger by 0.8% at $76.50, while the euro was 1% lower at $1.41 against the dollar. Spot gold prices were rising more than $2, according to Kitco's gold index.
Gold prices rose sharply on Thursday after the
Federal Reserve's
announcement that it would purchase an additional $600 billion in long-term treasuries to boost the economy, driving down the dollar and pushing stocks and commodities higher.
Movements in gold have been more influenced by trading in the dollar in recent days, but gold bulls still see further upside as the U.S. prints more money.
"The dollar index remains near-term technically and fundamentally very weak, which has been and continues to be bullish for the precious metals," wrote Kitco analyst Jim Wyckoff in a morning note. "Any strong rebound in the U.S. dollar index in the near term would likely only be temporarily bearish for gold, to likely produce a significant downside near-term 'correction' in an overall price uptrend."
Brian Hicks, CIO of Global Investors Global Resources Fund, sees higher prices for gold even from these levels. "It is difficult to say what will happen in the short term," Hicks told
TheStreet
on Thursday. "But if you look at all the components that are driving gold -- deficit spending, excess liquidity being pumped into the system by the Fed -- we continue to see more and more money flowing into the gold sector. And it is still relatively small versus other asset classes and you can see higher prices for gold in the horizon." Hicks sees gold prices going higher six, 12 and even 18 months from now.
gained 62 cents to $26.66, while copper prices rose 4 cents to $3.95.
, a risky but potentially highly profitable way to
, were trading mixed Friday afternoon.
Barrick Gold
(ABX)
was falling 0.3% to $49.18, while
Kinross Gold
(KGC) - Get Report
was flat at $18.83 and
Yamana Gold
(AUY) - Get Report
was gaining 2% to $11.70. The
Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF
(GDXJ) - Get Report
was higher by 1.3% to $40.44.
--Written by Shanthi Venkataraman in New York
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