Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Barrick (NYSE:ABX) Down on Otherwise Good Gold Day

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) all finished down on Friday, as the news on lack of job creation in the private sector of the U.S. didn't give investors time to bid the shares up, although gold prices ended up nicely.

For Friday, gold prices ended the day up $12.20, and closed the week at $1,220, much of that on the day after the negative economic news came out.

The lack of job creation caused pause and concern in the midst of a lot of worry during the week in relationship to the growing and expanding sovereign debt crisis in Europe, as well as the tightening of monetary policy in China to battle inflation arising from their property market.

I think we'll see a quick jump to start the week in gold in general, as investors digest the information and consider the potential consequences of a returning recession, or more likely, realization the recession has never really left us.

The one company above that wasn't a surprise was Freeport-McMoRan, as they deal with more than just gold, and copper is under tremendous pressure again based on the Chinese property market and how much China will cut imports.

Freeport ended the week at $62.81, down by $3.36 on Friday, a 5.08 percent decline.

Goldcorp had a mixed week based on mixed news, which the market is having a difficult time interpreting at this time, and so the share price moved up and down in unison with the news.

They finished the week at $42.23, down for the day on Friday by $0.89, a 2.06 percent drop.

Goldcorp remains a solid company though, as their continued low-cost strategy positions them strongly for whatever economic conditions emerge in the years ahead.

Barrick moved on the chart for the week, almost in the same motion as Goldcorp, as they increased and decreased in share price based on the mixed news as well.

They finished the week at $41.42, falling on Friday by $0.88 a share, a 2.08 percent fall.