Gold prices slide as investors take profits from U.S. jobs report rally
Published Apr 08, 2013 02:26PM ET
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were down 0.23% at USD1,572.35 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Monday, up from a session low of USD1,567.15 and down from a high of USD1,582.85 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,539.85 a troy ounce, Thursday's low, and resistance at USD1,582.85, the earlier high.
Gold prices shot up on Friday after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the world's largest economy added 88,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, well below expectations for a gain of 200,000 and below the 268,000 jobs added in February.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 7.6% in March, from 7.7% the previous month, as more Americans left the labor force.
Analysts were expecting the headline unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
The news initially sent the dollar falling and gold rising on expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep monetary stimulus programs in place, including its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program that weakens the greenback as a side effect.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely from one another.
By Monday, however, investors sold the precious metal for profits.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery was down 0.21% at USD27.163 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery was up 0.82% and trading at USD3.371 a pound.
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Written By: Investing.com
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