Gold futures are under pressure, sinking to their lowest level in nearly three months after a stronger-than-expected jump in May nonfarm payrolls.
Gold for August delivery on Comex GCQ5, -0.66% fell $1.80, or 0.2%, to $1,173.40 an ounce, while July silver SIN5, -0.58% lost 1.3 cents, or 0.1%, to $16.09 an ounce. Gold traded as low as $1,164.20 an ounce, the lowest level since early March, according to FactSet.
The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy added 280,000 new jobs in May, the biggest jump since the end of 2014 and well above the consensus forecast of 210,000 produced by a MarketWatch survey of economists. The unemployment rate edged up to 5.5% from 5.4%, mainly due to people entering the labor force in search of work.
“The report quells some fears that the economy might remain soft following the weak first quarter,” said Thomas Simons, economist at Jefferies & Co.
A stronger report underlines expectations the Federal Reserve will later this year deliver its first rate hike in nearly a decade. That’s seen as a negative for gold, which can struggle as monetary policy tightens and Treasury yields rise.
Uncertainty over Greece remains a factor in the market. Greece on Thursday said it would opt to bundle a series of weekly June payments to the International Monetary Fund into a single payment at the end of the month. The move was seen cranking up the debt crisis a notch.
In other metals trade, July platinum PLN5, -0.35% fell $5.40, or 0.5%, to $1,093.80 an ounce while September palladium PAU5, -0.30% declined $3.70, or 0.5%, to $751.60 an ounce.
July copper HGN5, -0.17% fell 0.5 cent, or 0.2%, to $2.682 a pound.
