CHICAGO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose moderately on Friday amid stocks, U.S. dollar retreat and a weak jobs report.
The most active gold contract for December delivery went up 1.70 U.S. dollars, or 0.13 percent, to close at 1,274.90 dollars per ounce.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.73 points, or 0.13 percent, to reach 22,745.66 as of 1736 GMT. S&P 500 and Nasdaq followed the retreat.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, also edged lower, down 0.06 percent to 93.86 as of 1725 GMT.
When equities and the dollar index fall, gold usually goes up, as investors are lured to the precious metals market.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the American non-farm payrolls decreased by 33,000 jobs in September, with a sharp decline in leisure and hospitality sector. The jobs drop was the first since 2010.
But the jobs report maintained that the decline was largely due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which caused widespread workplace disruptions.
Some analysts also agreed that it cannot be considered as an indication of shrinking economy.
As for other precious metals,silver for December delivery went up 15.2 cents, or 0.91 percent, to close at 16.79 dollars per ounce. Platinum for next January fell 1.3 dollars, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 916.7 dollars per ounce. Enditem
