Gold prices could retreat a bit next week following five weeks of gains, but overall market watchers said any correction by the yellow metal next week should be light and short-lived, as the overall trend for gold remains higher. Prices fell Friday and were mixed on the week. The most-active April gold contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $1,740.30 an ounce, up 0.28 percent on the week. March silver settled at $33.749 an ounce, down 0.12 percent on the week. In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 32 participants, 24 responded this week. Of those 24 participants, 14 see prices up, while seven see prices down, and three are neutral. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders, money managers and technical chart analysts. Gold prices slipped following a surprisingly strong report on US jobs for January. The headline figure of 243,000 jobs created was far above even the highest trade estimates and about double the average forecast of about 120,000. The rise in new jobs pushed the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent. Marc Chandler, head of global currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said this data has two-fold implications. “First, it eases fears that this year was repeating the past two years where a fairly robust fourth quarter was followed by a softer first quarter. This coupled with other recent reports for January show the year has begun off on a firm note. Second, it has policy implications. Ken Morrison, editor and founder of online newsletter Morrison on the Markets, agreed with those sentiments. “Today's US employment report and upward revisions to past months will re-establish some doubt about the need for monetary stimulus in the US, thus the expectations for a mild pullback in gold,” he said. Morrison said a downside target could be $1,700 to $1,680. Even analysts who look for gold to end next week higher concede that gold could pull back temporarily before moving up. “I would look for prices to pull back to roughly $1,715, maybe a little deeper. Only a close under $1,675 hints at a turn in prices to the downside. After the pullback and a couple days of basing, I expect gold to blast off next week over $1,775.”
