Gold unlikely to regain poise in near-term

Singapore

GOLD fell further from grace in the wake of Friday's stronger-than-expected US jobs report, which boosted expectations of a mid-year US interest rate hike.

After breaking past two price support levels, the yellow metal rebounded slightly on Monday. At around 9:35pm Singapore time on Tuesday, gold for April delivery was trading at a three-month low of about US$1,167 on the Comex, above its November 2014 low of US$1,144, but down about 13 per cent year-on-year.

Expecting few upside catalysts in the near-term, analysts have a bearish stance towards the bullion counter.

Friday's US labour data showed that the world's largest economy had added 295,000 jobs in February, surpassing economists' expectations by 55,000. The news sent the US dollar soaring to an 11-year high against a basket of currencies and raised the possibility of a Federal R…