Gold prices slide 1% after US jobs data

Gold prices fell by 1 percent to below $2,000 today, Monday, after US jobs data showed the continued strength of the labor market, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (US central bank) would raise interest again in May.

According to “Reuters”, gold fell in spot transactions by 0.8 percent, to $ 1992.97 an ounce, by 0613 GMT. And US gold futures fell 0.9 percent to $ 2007.80.

Harish said. The head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services said that prices are falling due to “profit taking on the back of expectations of raising interest rates by the Federal Reserve and the subsequent report on Friday that showed strong job growth in the United States along with the stability of the dollar.”

The dollar index increased 0.1 percent, which makes the precious metal priced in more expensive for buyers abroad.

Data published by the US Labor Department on Friday showed non-farm payrolls increased by 236 thousand jobs in March, compared to expectations of 239 thousand. The data also showed that the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5 percent, compared to 3.6 percent in the previous month.

Gold is usually viewed as a hedge against inflation, but high interest rates increase the opportunity cost of owning this non-returnable asset.

As for other precious metals, silver fell in spot transactions by 1 percent to 24.75 dollars an ounce, while platinum fell 0.7 percent to 1000.78 dollars, and palladium fell 0.1 percent to 1464.79 dollars.

It should be noted that the markets of Australia, Hong Kong and European markets are closed on Monday due to the Easter holiday.