Gold futures jumped, adding to slight gains, after Friday’s jobs report came in weaker than expected. The U.S. produced 156,000 new jobs in August, below Wall Street’s forecasts and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3%. December gold is trading 0.8% higher at $1,332.60 an ounce, compared with $1,323 before the results were released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The weaker number is supportive for gold because it may be interpreted as giving the Federal Reserve reason to delay lifting further interest rates in 2017. However, the reading still points to a U.S. economy that is growing, if not haltingly. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 170,000 increase in nonfarm jobs.
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