Gold rose on Friday, erasing earlier losses, after weaker than forecast US payrolls data knocked the dollar lower and as concerns over the prospect of a US-China trade war kept the metal on track for a narrow weekly gain. The US currency fell versus the euro and Wall Street stock futures added to losses after the report showed that the US economy created the fewest jobs in six months in March, easing concerns over aggressive interest rates hikes.
Spot gold was at $1,333.44 an ounce at 1325 GMT, up 0.6 percent and off an earlier low of $1,321.16. US gold futures for June delivery were 0.7 percent higher at $1,337.30 an ounce.
Spot prices are up 0.7 percent since last Friday, but are well off their highs for the week. Prices rose on Monday on concerns over the prospect of a China-US trade war before dropping to a one-week low by Thursday after both countries signalled a willingness to negotiate. "The payrolls report has provided a small boost to gold, but overall it's had quite a dismal week," Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen said. "(Gold) has really been struggling to get anything out of the heightened tensions we've seen on the trade front."
Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.8 percent at $16.49 an ounce, while platinum was 0.7 percent lower at $915.90 an ounce.
Palladium was up 0.2 percent at $906.90 an ounce, after 10 successive sessions of losses. The autocatalyst metal is still on track to end the week down nearly 5 percent.
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