Gold Slips as U.S. Jobs Data Spark Bets on Hawkish Fed
- Gains for bond yields and dollar dent demand for bullion
- Rate-hike speculation is a ‘dark cloud’ for precious metals
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Gold declined following a solid U.S. labor report that may strengthen the Federal Reserve’s case to use aggressive interest-rate hikes to tackle inflation.
The U.S. added close to half a million jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell by more than expected, a Labor Department report showed Friday. Treasury yields surged in response and the dollar gained, dampening bullion’s appeal since it generates no interest and is priced in the greenback.