adminfallen 10 percent since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US economy was recovering strongly enough to reduce its US$85 billion monthly bond buying stimulus later this year. US employers added 195 000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, exceeding expectations of 165 000 and supporting a Fed pullback.
“The jobs report is pulling gold prices down,” said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Hong Kong’s Wing Fung Precious Metals.
“Some physical buying interest supported prices earlier but we could test US$1 200 again today.”
Gold for immediate delivery fell 0,2 percent to US$1 220,59 an ounce by 0632 GMT following a 2 percent decline on Friday. Comex gold was higher by about US$8 at US$1 220,20. Spot gold is expected to revisit its June 28 low of US$1 180,71 per ounce as it may have resumed its primary downtrend, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
The US dollar rose 1,5 percent and hit a fresh three-year high against a basket of major currencies in Asia yesterday.
Liquidations from gold-backed exchange-traded funds continued, signalling waning interest in the metal. SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold ETF, said its holdings fell to a four-year low of 961,99 tonnes on Friday.
“We’re predicting gold will continue to drop year after year roughly by US$100 on average each year,” Michael Haigh, managing director at Societe Generale, told reporters at a briefing in Singapore.
Haigh sees gold prices hovering around US$1 200 towards the end of the year and fall further to average at US$1 150 in 2014. – Reuters.
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