Prices headed for weekly gains following positive jobs report

Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,682.50 per troy ounce on Friday, down 0.6% from Thursday’s closing price of $4,710.90. The gold price moved higher in early trading. At 6:45 a.m. ET, the price of gold was $4,732.60. By 10:45 a.m. ET, gold was holding at $4,731.80.

Silver (SI=F) July futures opened at $78.80 per ounce on Friday, down 1.7% from Thursday’s closing price of $80.18. The price of silver also rebounded in early trading, climbing to $81.12 by 6:45 a.m. ET. The price of silver continues to hold, priced at $81.30 at 10:45 a.m.

Read more: Economy adds 115,000 jobs, far better than expected

Over the last five days, Gold and silver prices are up 2.22% and 7.29%, respectively, this morning following the highly anticipated jobless claims report.

Investors are approaching the day with caution ahead of the monthly jobs report and following an exchange of attacks between Iranian missiles, drones, and small boats and U.S. naval ships. Despite this most recent escalation, the president said the ceasefire remains in effect, and an Iranian response to the White House’s latest peace proposal is expected this weekend.

For the moment, the price of Brent crude oil (BZ=F) is just over $100 a barrel and has declined by about 7% over the past five days.

Current price of gold

The opening price of June gold futures on Friday was down 0.6% from Thursday’s closing price. Here’s a look at how the gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

• One week ago: +1%

• One month ago: -1.6%

• One year ago: +38.1%

On Jan. 29, gold’s one-year gain was 95.6%.

24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.

Current price of silver

The opening price of July silver futures on Friday was down 1.7% from Thursday’s closing price. Here’s how the opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year: 

• One week ago: +5.9%

• One month ago: +3.5%

• One year ago: +144.1%

Learn more: How to invest in silver: A beginner’s guide

How much gold should you own?

A gold investment can add stability and inflation protection to your portfolio. But it can also dilute your gains when stock prices are rising quickly. Finding the right balance between gold’s diversification benefits and profiting from growth potential in other assets can be challenging.

Even the experts are divided on how to achieve the correct balance. Below, five experts explain their recommended gold allocations, which range from 0% to 20%.

Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps

No gold: Trade-off is too high

Robert R. Johnson, professor at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business, does not advocate gold investing. In his words, “while having a small position in precious metals may dampen portfolio volatility in the short-run, the tradeoff between slightly dampened volatility and the lost long-term return is certainly not a prudent one, particularly for Gen Z/millennials with long investing time horizons.”

2% to 5% allocation, depending on the situation

Brett Elliott, director of content and SEO at American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), recommends setting an allocation that aligns with your investing goals.

Growth-oriented investors may be comfortable with an allocation of 10% or 15%, according to Elliott. But income investors will prefer a smaller position, because gold provides no yield. A 2% to 5% gold allocation can provide some resiliency without an excessive drag on income potential.

Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How gold prices are determined.

5% to 8% gold allocation

Blake McLaughlin, executive vice president at Axcap Ventures, said historical data support a gold allocation of 5% to 8%. “Gold may not offer the outsized return potential of private investments, but the metal holds a set of attributes that are increasingly hard to ignore,” according to McLaughlin. Those attributes include the metal’s resilience amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical unrest.

5% to 15% gold allocation

Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, believes most investors will benefit from a long-term gold allocation of 5% to 15%. Winmill specifically advocates investing in gold mining companies through a mutual fund.

Your risk tolerance and current mix of financial versus hard assets can guide you to an appropriate allocation, according to Winmill.

1. Risk tolerance: Keep your allocation percentage low if you tend to panic in volatile cycles.

2. Financial vs. hard assets: Financial assets are stocks and bonds. Hard assets include tangible items like real estate, gold, collectibles, classic cars, and equipment. If you have no home equity and your wealth is primarily in financial assets, you can set your gold allocation higher. Or, if your home is paid for and more valuable than your stock portfolio, gold investing may not be necessary.

Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here’s what investors should watch for.

20% gold allocation

Vince Stanzione, CEO and founder at First Information, recommends a 20% gold allocation, specifically in physical gold or a gold ETF. Stanzione argues for a higher exposure to gold as a wealth protection strategy. As he says, “gold keeps with inflation and gold retains its purchasing power,” while paper currencies are devaluing around the world.

Learn more: Gold IRA: Benefits, risks, and how it differs from a traditional IRA

Price of gold and price of silver charts

Whether you’re tracking the price of gold or silver since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart and the price-of-silver charts below show the precious metal’s change in value so far this year.

More silver coverage from the Yahoo Finance team: