WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices turned lower on Friday, giving back weekly gains after a relatively upbeat U.S. jobs report.
Employment in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated in the month of February, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 175,000 jobs in February compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 150,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent, however, as more people joined the workforce.
The better-than-expected jobs report is bearish for gold, as it all but assures the Federal Reserve will further taper monetary stimulus in March.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $13.70 to $1,338 an ounce.
The worst daily loss since January dropped gold from a 4-month high of $1355 seen earlier this week.
Losses were more pronounced for silver, which tumbled almost 3 percent to $20.90 an ounce.
In other economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that the U.S. trade deficit edged wider in the month of January.
The report showed that the trade deficit widened to $39.1 billion in January from a revised $39.0 billion in December.
Meanwhile, New orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell by more than expected in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The report said factory orders dropped by 0.7 percent in January after tumbling by a revised 2.0 percent in December.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2014 AFX News
