Gold, silver extend last week’s winning streak

               Gold and silver prices extended gains from last week on Monday, as a mixed U.S. employment report forced investors to recalibrate their assumptions about the future course of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

Gold futures ended Friday’s session up 0.45% to settle at USD1,262.90 a troy ounce.On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery hit USD1,276.00 a troy ounce, the most since January 27, before trimming gains to trade at USD1,274.60 during European morning hours, up 0.9%.

Prices were likely to find support at USD1,252.20 a troy ounce, the low from February 5 and resistance at USD1,279.20, the high from January 26.

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery rose 1.1% to trade at USD20.15 a troy ounce. The March contract settled 0.04% higher on Friday to end at USD19.93 an ounce.

Silver futures were likely to find support at USD19.75 a troy ounce, the low from February 7 and resistance at USD20.24, the high from February 5.

Data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, well below expectations for jobs growth of 185,000, after December's lackluster gain of 75,000 jobs.

It was the weakest two-month stretch of job creation in three years as inclement weather contributed to a slowdown in hiring.

Yet the report also showed that the number of people participating in the labor force edged up to 63% from a 30-year low of 62.8% last month, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to a five year low 6.6% from 6.7% in December.

Market players now looked ahead to Congressional testimony from new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the week for clues regarding the future of course of U.S. monetary policy.

The Fed tapered its monthly asset purchase program by another USD10 billion to USD65 billion a month at its last policy meeting.

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery rose 0.1% to trade at USD3.239 a pound. - investing.com