Gold surged as high as $1280 per ounce amid horrific US export data and a jobs report that was nowhere near as strong as the headline number reads.

Topping off the action in gold, Blackrock suspended issuance of new shares in IAU, its gold trust ETF, citing a surge in demand for gold.

The Wall Street Journal reports BlackRock Suspends Issuance of New iShares Gold Trust Shares.

BlackRock Inc. on Friday said it has suspended the issuance of new shares in the roughly $8 billion iShares Gold Trust, citing a surge in demand for gold.

Existing shares of the gold trust will continue to trade despite the suspension of new share creation, the asset manager said in a news release.