The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier the economy added 88,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, way below expectations for a gain of 200,000 and below the 268,000 jobs added in February.
The private sector added 95,000 jobs last month, after an increase of 254,000 in February, missing expectations for a 209,000 rise.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 7.6 per cent in March, from 7.7 per cent the previous month, as more Americans left the labor force.
The news sent the dollar falling and gold rising on expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep monetary stimulus programs in place, including its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program that weakens the greenback as a side effect.
The June COMEX gold futures had tumbled to 10 month low of $1539.4 earlier this week, however it jumped back to end the fortnight at $1575.9 an ounce.
It rallied to a one-month peak in March on worries about fiscal stability in Europe, as politicians scrambled to clinch a bail-out for Cyprus.
Fear that central banks' money-printing to buy assets will stoke inflation has been a key driver in boosting gold, which rallied to an 11-month high in October after the Fed announced its third round of aggressive economic stimulus.
The international gold prices are down nearly $80 from its last year's level as the US dollar has appreciated.
The June COMEX gold futures are trading at $ 1575.9 an ounce as on 5th April 2013 whereas last year the metal has been trading near $1650 an ounce levels.
The US dollar has gained nearly 2 per cent in April 2013 compared to the same period last year.
However the MCX gold futures are trading higher than it was during the same period last year.
The MCX June gold futures finished at Rs 29710 per 10 grams on 5th April 2013 whereas during the same period last year gold prices were hovering around Rs 27500-28000 levels.
One reason for this difference is depreciation in the Indian currency. The Rupee is down nearly 9 per cent at 54.88 per US dollar as compared to 50.5 in March 2012.
The Rupee is expected to depreciate further in the new fiscal year because a weak currency is desirable to fix India's current account.
The shortfall in India's current account, the broadest measure of trade, widened to $32.6 billion in the quarter ended 31 December, or 6.7 per cent of gross domestic product, as imports of oil and gold surged
