(Kitco NewsWire) - Spot gold and silver prices are sharply higher late Friday in North American trade, as Thursday’s weaker-than-expected U.S. employment report continued to pressure the dollar and support precious metals into a thin holiday-weekend tape. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,174.10 an ounce, up 1.27%, while spot silver was trading near $62.270, up 2.36% on the session.
Gold’s session range was $4,120.50 to $4,196.10, leaving the metal below the $4,200 resistance zone but above the post-payrolls breakout level. Silver’s session range was $60.80 to $63.02, with the metal extending its outperformance after reclaiming the $60.00 level.
Positioning after Thursday’s nonfarm payrolls report remains supportive for metals, but not fully dovish. The dollar extended its post-data weakness, while the 10-year Treasury yield held near the 4.5% area rather than breaking decisively lower. The message for gold is mixed but constructive: the report reduced urgency around additional near-term Fed tightening, but traders still price material odds of another hike later this year, keeping the rate channel relevant even as labor momentum softens.
The Strait of Hormuz situation is best characterized as normalized flow with unresolved governance risk. Oil prices are trading near prewar levels as shipping flows through the strait recover and near-term supply looks ample, but U.S.-Iran negotiations remain fragile and disputes over Hormuz administration and transit fees are still unresolved.
The current market impact is disinflationary at the margin: WTI is near $68.73 a barrel and Brent near $72.02, reducing the immediate energy-shock impulse for yields and the Fed. Gold’s move is therefore being driven more by the dollar-and-rate response to payrolls than by fresh panic demand from the waterway.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices steady and trading around $68.73 a barrel, while Brent crude was near $72.02. The U.S. dollar index is lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is trading near the 4.5% area.
Technically, spot gold bulls' next upside price objective is to push prices back above the $4,200.00 to $4,350.00 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,500.00 and then $5,000.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is a break below $4,091.00, with deeper downside targets at $4,000.00 and then $3,950.00. First resistance is seen at $4,200.00 and then at $4,350.00. First support is seen at $4,091.00 and then at $4,000.00.
Spot silver bulls' next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $64.00 to $64.50 area, with a move above that zone targeting $72.00 and then $89.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below $60.05, with deeper downside targets at $58.00 and then $55.00. First resistance is seen at $64.00 and then at $64.50. Next support is seen at $60.05 and then at $58.00.
