© Archyde.com. Gold bars in a photo from the Archyde.com archive.
(Archyde.com) – It fell on Friday after a better-than-expected US jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sharply.
Prices fell 0.6 percent to $1,700.03 an ounce by 1802 GMT. Prices are up about 2.4 percent so far this week.
US gold futures fell 0.7 percent to settle at $1,709.30 an ounce.
“The market is looking at the better-than-expected jobs report as further impetus for the Federal Reserve to raise (interest rates) another 75 basis points at the early November meeting,” said Tai Wong, chief dealer at New York Precious Metals Heraios.
“If gold does not consolidate at the level of $ 1690, it may fall to the level of $ 1660. The market will now focus on the main inflation data that will be released next week in addition to the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting.”
Data showed that US employers hired more workers than expected in September and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent.
After this data, it rose against its competitors, and the returns rose. A rising dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
As for other precious metals, it decreased in spot transactions by 2.3 percent to $ 20.21 an ounce, but it is on its way to achieving the largest weekly gain since late July, as it rose almost 6.2 percent so far.
Platinum fell 0.7 percent to $915.44 an ounce, but it is still on track to record its best weekly performance since June 2021.
It fell 3.1 percent to $2,191.17 an ounce.
(Prepared by Mostafa Saleh and Noha Zakaria for the Arabic Bulletin)