Gold prices up on weaker US dollar

The price of gold was higher Friday as the US dollar weakened on new numbers from the Labor Department which showed that the United States lost more jobs than expected in September.

The loss of 263,000 jobs, which sent the US unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, its highest in 26 years, reinforced concerns that economic recovery is going more slowly than had been hoped.

After early declines to as low as $987 per troy ounce, December gold ended the session $3.30 higher to $1,004 per troy ounce in New York trade.

December silver, on the other hand, was down 21 cents to $16.23 per troy ounce while January platinum fell $5.90 to $1,283.40 after US automobile sales were down in September, weakened after the end of the “Cash for Clunkers” trade-in program.

Prices for palladium were higher in mid-morning trade, adding $4.25 to $297.20 as investors looked for bargains after recent declines.

Among base metals, most prices were lower in London trade but the price of time remained steady on the session.

December copper was down 6 cents to $2.68 per pound in New York and three-month copper in London dropped $90 to $5,895 per tonne, hurt not only by September jobs data, but also after London Metal Exchange-monitored warehouses saw stockpiles of the metal used in manufacturing and construction grow for the 12th consecutive week.

LME stockpiles are now up 34 percent since mid-July, causing persistent worries about demand.

Trade volume for copper was much lower than usual as China’s markets remained closed for holidays.