CHICAGO: Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Friday on robust U.S. September jobs report.
The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 11.5 U.S. dollars, or 0.67 percent, to close at 1,709.3 dollars per ounce.
Gold rose 2.2 percent for the week.
U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs in September. While the gain was lower than August’s upwardly revised 315,000, it surpassed the 250,000 level economists had projected. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent in August.
Strong U.S. jobs report shows the labor market is in better shape than the market might suggest, giving the Federal Reserve leeway to continue hiking interest rates, market analysts hold.
Following the jobs report, U.S. dollar index and Treasury yields climbed, dampening gold.