Spot Gold Prices Extend Gains

Spot gold prices added to recent gains Friday afternoon as the dollar declined.

Author:: Andrea Tse
Publish date:: Aug 6, 2010 2:59 PM EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Spot gold prices extended recent gains Friday afternoon as the dollar descended.

The dollar index was down 0.6% to $80.36 after the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 131,000 last month -- a second straight month of losses. On average, investors had expected nonfarm payrolls to shed 87,000 positions.

New York spot gold prices were rising $10.70, or 0.9% , to $1,205.60 an ounce Friday afternoon.

New York spot silver prices were up 12 cents, or 0.7%, at $18.46 an ounce.

New York spot platinum prices, meanwhile, were falling $2, or 0.1%, to $1,567 an ounce, while its sister metal was losing traction.

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New York spot palladium prices were declining by $11, or 2.2%, to $485 an ounce.

Mining stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were trading in mixed territory Friday afternoon. Mining stocks offer another form of exposure to precious metals.

Platinum and Palladium extractor

Stillwater Mining

(SWC)

was falling 1.3% to $13.79, while

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

(FCX) - Get Report

was rising 0.1% to $74.15.

ETFS Physical Palladium Shares

(PALL) - Get Report

was down 2.1% to $48.59 and

iShares Silver Trust

(SLV) - Get Report