Investing.com - Gold prices fell in Asia on Friday in a continuation of sentiment that the Federal Reserve will move relatively soon to taper its USD85 billion bond-buying program following upbeat initial jobless claim figures. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,241.60 a troy ounce, down 0.04%. Gold prices hit an overnight session low of USD1,235.90 a troy ounce and high of USD1,249.50 a troy ounce. The Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the U.S. last week fell by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, beating expectations for a decline of 9,000. The data sent gold prices falling a day after the Federal Reserve said in the release of its October policy meeting minutes that it might begin tapering the pace of its monthly bond purchases soon if conditions in the labor market improve. Separate government data revealed that the U.S. producer price index declined 0.2% in October, in line with expectations, while the country's core PPI rose 0.2%, beating market calls for a 0.1% gain, which markets also viewed as bearish for the yellow metal.

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