2014.09.0803:52:39UTC+00Slow jobs growth helps gold recover from lowest value in 11 weeks

Gold rebounded from hitting its lowest in 11 weeks after a government report revealed that employers in the US added the fewest amount of jobs for the year last month.

Futures for gold with a delivery date in December advanced by 0.1% to achieve a price per ounce of $1,267.30. Prices for the precious metal earlier went to as low as $1,258, the lowest among most active contracts since June 17th,  when it declined by 0.7% in New York’s Comex.

Last week’s data from the US Labor Department showed that only 142,000 new jobs were added in the month of August to fall under even the most pessimistic prediction of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The development came right after the Federal Reserve announced it may raise interest rates sooner than expected should the labor market continue to improve at a rapid pace.

Senior market strategist Chris Gaffney from EverBank Wealth Management said that, “Previous data had suggested the economy was gaining traction, but today’s number is a bit of a disappointment, and the Fed may have to maintain lower interest rates.”

Gold is on track to record its first losing quarter this year due to speculation over rising interest rates offsetting the demand for hedges against inflation. It has gained 5.4% this year so far helped by persisting global unrest focused in Ukraine and the Middle East after falling by 28% in 2013 following the US central bank’s slowing of stimulus.

Futures for silver with a delivery date in December climbed 0.1% to arrive at a price per ounce of $19.156 still on the Comex. Palladium for December on the New York Mercantile Exchange improved by 0.1% to $891.45 per ounce while platinum for October bounced back from hitting its lowest since April 24 by gaining 0.2% for $1,411 per ounce.