Gold Rises to Three-Week High as US Payrolls Trail Forecasts

The addition of 148,000 workers followed a revised 193,000 rise in August, Labor Department figures showed. The median forecast of 93 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an increase of 180,000. The report, delayed by the 16-day government shutdown that ended Oct. 17, was slated for Oct. 4.

“The payrolls data is pushing gold higher as investors think the economy needs more support to gain momentum,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.

Gold futures for December delivery climbed 2 percent to settle at $1,342.60 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after reaching $1,344.70, the highest for a most-active contract since Sept. 30.

Fed policymakers will delay reducing $85 billion in monthly bond purchases until March, according to the median estimate of 40 economists in a Bloomberg survey last week.