NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- Gold futures soared Friday, climbing almost 4 percent, as equities crumbled on Wall Street on a slew of disappointing economic reports.
Gold added $61.30 to $1,625.50 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors sought a safe haven with the Dow Jones industrial average giving up 2.22 percent (274.88 points), putting the index behind for the year.
Markets started negative with U.S. Labor Department report that said the U.S. unemployment rate ticked higher, from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent in May on the addition of 69,000 jobs, the lowest total since August.
Silver added 67 cents to $28.43 per troy ounce.
The dollar index lost 0.29 percent to 82.82 as the euro broke from a slump to reach $1.2428 from Thursday's $1.2364.
Against the yen, the dollar reached 78.10 yen from 78.31 yen.
The British pound was $1.536 from $1.5406. The dollar was 1.0402 Canadian dollars from 1.0328 Canadian.
