CHICAGO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday on upbeat U.S. jobs data.
The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 15.7 U.S. dollars, or 0.87 percent, to close at 1,791.2 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added 528,000 new jobs in July, much better than economists' estimate of 258,000; and the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, lower than economists' estimate of 3.6 percent.
Upbeat economic data boosted the U.S. dollar index and U.S. treasury yields, dampening gold.
Market analysts hold that a robust July jobs report may reinforce market expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively tighten monetary policy in an attempt to bring down the highest inflation in more than four decades.
Silver for September delivery fell 28 cents, or 1.39 percent, to close at 19.842 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery fell 20 cents, or 0.02 percent, to close at 924.7 dollars per ounce. ■