Gold prices lost ground Thursday, turning negative for the holiday-shortened week, as a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report lured investors to U.S. equities and the dollar.
August gold futures fell $12.30, or 0.9%, to $1,318.60 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract briefly undercut the $1,310 U.S. level after the jobs data before paring its loss. It’s on pace for a weekly decline of 0.1%, giving up what had been a gain for the week.
The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to a nearly six-year low of 6.1%, the government reported Thursday. Economists had expected an addition of 215,000 jobs, along with an unemployment rate of 6.3%.
Also Thursday, data showed that the U.S. trade deficit shrank 5.6% in May to $44.4 billion U.S. from a revised $47.0 billion U.S. in the prior month.
In other metals trading on Thursday, September silver fell 17 cents, or 0.8%, to $21.13 U.S. an ounce. October platinum shed $3.10, or 0.2%, to $1,508.20 U.S. an ounce, while palladium for September delivery added $8.15, or 1%, to $865.30 U.S. an ounce.
High-grade copper for September delivery lost less than a half cent to $3.26 U.S. a pound.
