Gold continues down-turn amid strong job report

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday for a third consecutive session as the U.S. government released a better-than-expected job report.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 1.7 U.S. dollars, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 1,226.90 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported an increase of 211,000 jobs on non-farm payroll in April, a development which would keep the Federal Reserve on the path of higher interest rates, many analysts interpreted.

Most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, according to the official statistics released on Friday.

The further fall of gold futures was curbed as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average went down by 17.33 points, or 0.08 percent as of 18:20 GMT.

Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually rises.

A weakening dollar also prevented the precious metal from sliding further as the U.S. Dollar Index was down by 0.10 percent to 98.68 as of 18:25 GMT.

The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise.

Silver for July delivery fell 2.9 cents, or 0.18 percent, to close at 16.274 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery rose 2.5 dollars, or 0.28 percent, to close at 910.20 dollars per ounce. Endit