Gold futures dropped Friday, coming off a two-month high as better-than-expected U.S. jobs data raised hopes about prospects for economic recovery and reduced demand for the precious metal as a safe haven.
Gold for December delivery fell $9.50 U.S., or 0.8%, to $1,243.60 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal has eked out a gain of 0.5% this week.
The contract earlier hit an intraday low of $1,239.20 U.S. an ounce.
Gold futures accelerated their decline after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy lost 54,000 nonfarm jobs in August. The decline was smaller than the 105,000 expected by economists polled by MarketWatch.
Private-sector payrolls rose by 67,000 in August, also exceeding market expectations, which had called for an increase of 30,000. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 9.6% in August from July's 9.5%, as forecast.
Gold, typically seen as a safe-haven investment, tends to decline in value on good economic news and gain on bad news.
