Gold futures gained $10.30 per ounce last week before the long weekend. We saw some volatile price action the last day of the week with the Department of Labor monthly Non-Farm payrolls coming out. December Gold futures hit a high at 1255.6 during electronic trading overnight. Prior to the employment report in the morning, prices hit a low at 1239.2. After the numbers were released, prices found support to close at 1248.2. Analysts have attributed most of the sell-off to profit taking ahead of the payroll numbers. The market bounced back after the non-farm numbers were better than expected. The Labor Department reported that 54,000 jobs were lost instead of the 105,000 that had been expected.
Investors continue to see gold as a safe-haven lately and Gold futures are trading close to record highs on Tuesday Morning. Gold prices are rising due to concern among investors that some European banks may have difficulty raising additional funds. December futures hit an intraday high of $1,261.60. If the market closes at these levels, it would surpass the recent record high of $1,258.30 an ounce, set in June when worries about a possible sovereign-debt default in Europe escalated.
