The gold falls to its lowest level in a month as investors seek to profit

Source: annahar

The price of gold dropped to its lowest level in a month on Friday, despite weaker-than-expected US job data, continuing its decline from a significant rise last month as investors seek profit amid diminishing geopolitical risks.

Gold in spot trading fell to $2,294.30 per ounce by 15:21 GMT, on track for a second consecutive weekly decline, down 1.8% so far.

US gold futures fell 0.3% to $2,303.40.

The precious metal quickly relinquished its gains after jumping to its highest level at $2,320.78 upon the release of data showing an increase of 175,000 nonfarm payrolls in the US last month, fewer than economists' expectations of 243,000 jobs.

Gold, considered a safe haven, has declined by 5.7%, or about $140, since hitting a record high of $2,431.29 in April, driven by waves of tension in the Middle East and strong central bank purchases.

Christopher Wong, a currency strategist at OCBC Bank, said, "The significant decline over the past two weeks was due to a reduction in concerns about geopolitical risks."

Efforts led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) have raised hopes for a possible ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The US central bank indicated on Wednesday that it still leans towards eventually lowering borrowing costs, but it hinted that recent disappointing inflation readings could postpone interest rate cuts for some time.

The precious metal is usually a hedge against inflation, but high interest rates reduce the attractiveness of gold, which does not yield returns.

As for other precious metals, silver fell 1.3% to $26.35 and is also heading for a weekly loss.

Platinum rose 0.1% to $950.76, up about 5% for the week so far. Palladium also rose 0.9% to $943.50.