Gold, oil drop in New York on disappointed US jobs data

NEW YORK  : Both bullion and oil ended the week on a losing note in New York mainly after much awaited US jobs data failed to revive market sentiments.

Light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $88.03 a barrel, dropped 35 cents, while US gold futures for February delivery settled down $2.80 an ounce to $1368.90.

Spot gold ended at $1369.85 an ounce, fell 0.1 percent, while Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February settled at $93.33 per barrel in London, down $1.19 from Thursday's close.

Silver dropped 1.1 per cent to $28.71 an ounce. Oil futures contract had lost almost two dollars while the bullion notched its biggest weekly decline since May

Analysts also attributed a stronger dollar that made the commodity more expensive for the setback. The dollar continued to rise against other key currencies, with the euro falling below $1.30 to its lowest level since early December, further discouraging investors from buying oil.

A stronger greenback makes dollar-traded commodities less attractive for investors.

US Labor Department reported a sharp drop in the unemployment rate in December to 9.4 percent, but at the same time, the economy created 103,000 jobs, much fewer than the 150,000 forecast by analysts.

The oil market began 2011 with a bang, striking two-year peaks on Monday on the back of confidence in increased global energy demand after the US economy showed more signs of recovery.

Gold fell in tandem with other commodities this week as some investors unwound solid gains made on thin volume in gold and other precious metals over the holidays. Gold rose nearly 3 per cent in December, and was up 29.6 per cent last year.