Gold Surges to $4,400 After Surprise Jobs Report

A surprise jobs report in the US on Friday sent gold prices soaring to $4,399.80 per ounce, a 2.33% daily gain that capped a week of aggressive buying.

The Labor Department reported a loss of 23,000 non-farm jobs in July, missing every forecast and revising down the prior two months by 103,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.1%, but hourly earnings rose only 0.1% month-on-month and 3.2% year-over-year, both softer than expected.

The Fed's implied probability of a September hike tumbled from 67% to 42%, effectively scuttling the case for another move.

Meanwhile, central banks continued their structural driver of buying gold, with China adding 20 tonnes in July and now holding 2,366 tonnes.