Gold prices climbed Friday after U.S. jobs data came in weaker than anticipated.

Weak economic data pushed gold higher, as the yellow metal is regarded as a hedge against rising inflation; if the U.S. economy is seen to be losing strength, the Federal Reserve will be less likely to keep raising interest rates to curb inflation.

August gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $6.50 to $640 an ounce by midday Friday, after rising as high as $644 an ounce.


July silver rose 16.5 cents to $12.07 an ounce.

The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth narrowed in May, with employers boosting payrolls by just 75,000 -- the smallest since October.

Jay Brown, a senior derivatives specialist at Pro Edge Fx, a division of Infinity Brokerage, said a weak tone nevertheless remains prevalent in gold and silver, and that if gold fails to hold at current levels, it is likely to head down to a range of $606 to $613 an ounce.

Brown said silver is poised to test $11.20 to $11.44 an ounce.

While the market struggles to find its footing day-to-day, Tom O'Brien, an analyst for the Gold Report, said the correction in precious metals could be over soon.

"We had a nice shake-out today to $624 (in overnight trade) ... now it is building a floor," said O'Brien who added that August gold could get back to the $681-an-ounce level "in a heart beat."

While the summer months could be a slow trading period for the precious metals, O'Brien contends that over the next month, August gold is likely to get as high as $685 an ounce.