Gold Drops After Strong US Employment Figures

Gold prices fell after U.S. employers boosted payrolls in April by the most in two years, cutting demand for the metal as a haven.

The 288,000 gain in employment was the biggest since January 2012, Labor Department figures showed today. The jobless rate plunged to 6.3 percent, the lowest since September 2008. Through yesterday, bullion climbed 6.7 percent this year as signs of faltering U.S. economic growth boosted demand for a haven.

“The economy is healing, so there is no need for a safe-haven asset,” Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “People will move to more riskier assets.”

Gold futures for June delivery slid 0.4 percent to $1,278.30 an ounce at 8:44 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, prices rose as much as 0.4 percent as tensions intensified between Russia and Ukraine.

A decline today would be the fifth straight loss, and the longest slump since April 1. The Federal Reserve reduced monthly asset buying to $45 billion on April 30 with the fourth straight $10 billion cut, and policy makers said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely.

via Bloomberg

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