Gold climbs, on the verge of sharpest weekly rise since 2008 financial crisis

MARKETWATCH--Gold prices on Friday were gaining and on the brink of the sharpest weekly advance for bullion since the 2008 financial crisis as fear about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak drove appetite for assets perceived as havens, including bullion and government debt. Prices for the yellow metal, however, pared some of its earlier advance to trade well below the day's best levels after data Friday revealed that the U.S. created 273,000 new jobs...'February nonfarm payrolls does not reflect any impact of coronavirus. March will,' said Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants. 'At the moment, US jobs market is resilient to coronavirus. US corporate profitability is not immune to coronavirus.' Gold for April delivery on Comex rose $18.10, or 1.1%, to $1,686.50 an ounce, after surging 1.5% in the previous session. For the week, bullion is on pace to gain 7.5%, which would represent its largest weekly gain for a most-active contract since the 2008 financial crisis, according to FactSet data....The dollar has declined more than 2% this week as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index. A weaker dollar can raise the appeal of dollar-price assets like gold to buyers using foreign currency."