unemployment figures

The markets skidded, as the latest unemployment figures raised concerns about the strength of the recovery.

Precious metals rallied this week following a weaker US dollar that was pushed lower by a series of economic reports, including the Labor Department's higher than expected unemployment figures of 10.2 percent - a more than 26-year high.

Gold reached an all-time high and silver soared. Crude oil tumbled on Friday by nearly 3 percent but still managed to post a small weekly gain.

In stocks for the week, European indexes were higher and the three major US indexes advanced more than 3 percent.

The dollar extended its gains Monday on the back of a fall in unemployment figures at the end of last week, as investors were cautious ahead of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve on interest rates.

When the monthly unemployment figures come out Friday, Greg Noel will go from collecting government statistics to becoming one. Again.