Daily Market Report 02/03/12

GOLD

This morning the big news which affected the financial markets was the dramatic increase in January’s Non-Farm worker’s job report. Initially, Gold fell over 1%, and then rallied.  At 11am PST, Gold is trading at $1,739.50 per ounce, down $18.90 per ounce on active volume for a Friday.

Today, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy created 243.000 new non-farm jobs in January. The January increase was the highest in nine months and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent.

Talks between Greece and its international lenders continue to drag on, with euro zone finance ministers aiming to agree on a second financing package on Monday.      

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose nearly half a percent to 1,277.135 tonnes by Feb 2 -- their highest since Dec.20.     

SILVER

Silver reacted with Gold on the Non-Farm workers report.  Silver is down $.58, per ounce at 11am PST, trading at $33.78 per ounce on normal volume.

Other Important news that affects precious metal prices:

The U.S. Commerce Department reported today that factory orders rose 1.1% in December,. Economists polled had expected a 1.4% rise. But the report was bolstered by an upward revision to November, where orders were revised to a 2.2% increase from an initially reported 1.8% rise.