Gold in London rose for a second straight day after U.S. employers added fewer than jobs than forecast, boosting prospects for the Federal Reserve to use additional stimulus measures to spur growth.

Payrolls climbed by 120,000 in March, the Labor Department said today. Economists forecast a gain of 205,000, the median of 80 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Minutes from a Fed policy meeting released this week indicated that the central bank will hold off on increasing monetary accommodation unless economic expansion falters.

“There’s going to be this feeling that the Fed’s minutes that said easing was off the table is not going to pan out,”Michael Gayed, the chief investment strategist who helps oversee $150 million at New York-based Pension Partners LLC, said in a telephone interview. “We’re getting the consistent message that stimulus is good for gold.”

Bullion for immediate delivery gained 0.6 percent to $1,640.25 an ounce at 8:49 a.m. New York time. Trading on the Comex in New York is closed today for Good Friday.

Gold has surged about 85 percent since the end of 2008 as the Fed held borrowing costs at a record low and bought $2.3 trillion in housing and government debt.