Gold futures took a turn lower after switching between gains and losses on the heels of a Friday jobs report that offered a mixed picture of the health of the U.S. labor market. The U.S. economy in August saw its smallest employment gains in five months, according to the Labor Department, adding a modest 173,000 new jobs, while unemployment fell to 5.1%—its lowest level since April 2008. On its face, the data may provide no clear guidance for those hoping to gather insight about the Federal Reserve’s plan for normalizing interest rates. Although the payrolls rise was lower than economists’ projections, upward revisions to prior months and the lowest unemployment rate in about seven years may offer little cause for the Fed to delay raising rates for the first time in nearly a decade at its two-day policy meeting beginning Sept. 16. The employment data come shortly after Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Fed, said the central bank would be willing to lift rates regardless of a weak report. Immediately after the jobs report, gold turned into positive territory but soon returned to negative territory. Gold futures for December delivery GCZ5, -0.67% were lower, losing about $6.50, or 0.6%, to $1,118 an ounce, after posting a second straight decline in Thursday’s session ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report. Gold is on pace for a 1.5% weekly decline Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com, described the initial jump for gold as a “knee-jerk� reaction to the report but said the data wasn’t weak enough to support gold at higher levels. A strengthening dollar provided additional headwinds for the dollar-denominated precious metal as currency investors pushed the greenback higher against its main rivals in early Thursday trade. “I think the dollar is finding support and gold may have to fall back,� Razaqzada said soon after the jobs report was released. A stronger dollar is a drag on dollar-denominated gold, making the precious metal less attractive to buyers in other currencies. A strengthening dollar put pressure on gold in Thursday trade after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled the ECB was prepared to expand monetary stimulus if needed to help boost the region’s economy amid worries about a slowdown in emerging markets like China. Read: Here’s why Mario Draghi sent the euro spiraling lower Beyond jobs and a stronger dollar, analysts at Nomura believes that weak demand for gold is reining in the metal’s price, which had moved off its recent lows of around $1,085 an ounce, on the back of worries about tough economic times for China’s economy. “Although gold futures and import data have improved, our metals and mining analysts think it is still too early to see a significant price rebound, as underlying consumer demand appears absent and the Fed’s decision is capping the upside,� said Nomura in a Friday note. In other metals, December silver SIZ5, -1.31% lost 5 cents, or 0.4%, to trade at $14.66 an ounce. Silver is on track for a 0.3% weekly drop.

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