Commodities: Gold breaks lower as US dollar index gains

Gold futures for delivery in April were sideswiped by an unexpectedly strong reading on the US jobs market, dropping by $33.1 in the last day of trading in the week.

Employment Stateside kept up a strong pace even in the face of heavy snowfall and layoffs in the mining sector.

The news saw the US dollar index gain 1.2% on the day.

Front month West Texas crude futures slipped $1.28 to end the session at $49.61 per barrel in NYMEX trading.

Out on COMEX, the May copper contract closed $4.2 lower at $2.65 per pound.