Gold spikes to $1323 after US jobs reports

• US Dollar drops after a lower-than-expected NFP.
• Gold jumps to $1323, remains below Thursday’s high.

The US dollar weakened across the board after the release of the US employment report and pushed gold to the upside. The metal rose $6 in a few seconds, from $1316/oz to $1323 to test daily highs. It failed to break higher but it was holding near that area and also close to yesterday’s highs $1326.

Previous to the report, gold was in negative territory for the day. It was pulling back from the monthly high it reached yesterday. The retreat found support at $1315 and from hat area it rebounded boosted by US data.

According to the Labor Department, the US economy added 148K jobs in December, below the 190K estimated by market analysts. Average earnings rose 0.3% (as expected) while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1% (17-year low).

A few minutes after the report the greenback recovered most of its losses. Despite being below expectorations the data continue to signal a strong labor market and it did not alter significantly Fed rate hike expectations.

XAUD/USD levels

To the upside, above $1326, resistance level might be seen at $1330 (Sep 6 low), $1335 and $1344 (Sep 5 high). On the flip side, the daily low at $1315 is the immediate support to consider, followed by $1305 (Dec 4 low) and $1300.