Gold futures extend decline while copper steadies as US wage gains fuel rate angst

London

GOLD futures fell for the first time last week after a report showed that US wages rose the most during the current expansion, adding to the case for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates.

The 156,000 increase in December payrolls followed a 204,000 rise in November that was bigger than previously estimated, government data showed on Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 175,000 advance. The jobless rate ticked up to 4.7 per cent as the labour force grew, and wages rose 2.9 per cent from December 2015.