Gold prices slumped Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report in the U.S. dulled the precious metal’s shine as a safe haven.
The U.S. Labor Department said the U.S. added 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest gain since January 2012 and well beyond the 235,000 that were expected. Meanwhile, Average hourly wages jumped nine cents, or 0.4%, after two weak readings, although the 12-month increase was little changed at 2.1%.
Tripling earlier losses, gold for February delivery fell $18.90, or 1.5%, to $1,189.30 U.S. an ounce in electronic trade. March silver lost 29 cents, or 1.8%, to $16.28 U.S. an ounce. Both metals are still up over 1% for the week, and barring a big drop, gold could end with its best week since February.
In other metals trading, January platinum dropped $17.40, or 1.4%, to $1,228.50 U.S. an ounce, while March palladiumrose 95 cents to $802.40 U.S. an ounce.
High-grade copper for March delivery rose a penny to $2.94 U.S. a pound.
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