Gold prices down on solid US jobs data

[SINGAPORE] Gold fell after the first back-to-back weekly declines since May as investors weighed the situation in Russia and Gaza with the health of the US economy. Silver retreated while platinum advanced.

Gold for immediate delivery decreased as much as 0.4 per cent to US$1,301.49 an ounce and was at US$1,305.40 by 2.15 pm in Singapore yesterday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal climbed 1.1 per cent on Friday, the most in a week.

Prices dropped for a second week as global equities rose and the US dollar had its biggest weekly gain since March after data showing claims for US jobless benefits shrank to an eight-year low.