Palladium gains ground as dollar tapers off

Palladium prices rose on Friday as the dollar lost ground against most major rivals following  US payrolls data.

US unemployment fell to 3.5% in July from 3.6%, beating estimates of no change.

US economy added 187 thousand new jobs in July, below estimates of 205 thousand, while the previous reading was revised to show a 185K addition instead of 209K.

Finally, average work hours fell by just 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in July, while average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% to $33.74. 

The Fed continues to closely monitor latest US jobs data to monitor the impact of the recent policy decisions. 

Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.7% as of 16:52 GMT to 101.7, with a session-high at 102.6, and a low at 101.7. 

Palladium futures due in September rose 0.5% as of 16:53 GMT to $1,264 an ounce.