Gold prices rose on Friday, as Wall Street stocks tumbled and the dollar fell as rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese officials fed worries about a possible trade war, and after U.S. jobs data came in weaker than expected.
Spot gold was up 0.62 percent at $1,336.8 an ounce by 3:24 p.m. EST. In early trade, it fell to a session low of $1,321.16, the lowest since March 21. U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up 0.62 percent at $1,336.8.
U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow down more than 450 points, after Trump on Thursday threatened to slap $100 billion more in tariffs on Chinese imports, and Beijing pledged a "fierce counter strike." Falling stock prices dragged the dollar against the yen and the euro. Also pressuring the U.S. currency was data showing the U.S. economy in March created the fewest jobs in six months, which might prompt the Federal Reserve to go more slowly on plans to raise interest rates.
Gold has fluctuated as investors rated prospects of a U.S.-China trade war. "We are moving back to a risk-off scenario today, but still stuck in a trading range between $1,300 and $1,360," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "The market is paying very much attention to the dollar and bond market in terms of what the Fed is going to do."
"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.
Silver was up 0.14 percent at $16.37 an ounce, and on track to close up 0.2 percent for the week. Platinum was up 0.57 percent at $915.20 an ounce.
Palladium fell for the 11th straight session and was down 0.43 percent at $901.40 an ounce, after falling to $895.47, the lowest since August 2017. It was on track to end the week down 5.3 percent.
"Last year's uptrend has reversed and palladium prices are down more than 20 percent from their January high," Julius Baer said in a note. "We see them better aligned with a softer global car market and shift our view to neutral."