By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Gold futures lost ground in electronic trading Friday ahead of the release of much-awaited U.S. employment data for June.
Gold futures for August delivery GC1Q -0.14% slipped $1.70 to trade at $1.528.90 an ounce in electronic activity.
Gold has risen over the past three trading sessions, boosted in part by safe-haven demand amid renewed turmoil in the euro zone, analysts said.
Meanwhile, economists polled by MarketWatch expect Friday’s jobs report to show a modest rebound in non-farm payrolls after adding just 36,000 jobs in May. The survey produced a consensus forecast of 125,000 new jobs, still short of the 250,000 or so seen as healthy. Read about the employment report.
While a strong reading could undercut safe-haven demand for the yellow metal, the unsettled situation in Europe could see gold continue to benefit from its status as a store of value, wrote analysts at Commerzbank.
The euro EURUSD -0.64% saw pressure on Friday, losing ground versus the dollar as Italian bond yields faced heavy selling on worries over political uncertainty.
William L. Watts is a reporter for MarketWatch in Frankfurt.
