London - Gold fell to the lowest since March on speculation that US jobs data will support prospects for higher interest rates. Silver rose for the first time in six days.
American employers probably added more than 200 000 jobs for the 15th time in 16 months and the jobless rate fell, according to a Bloomberg survey before the data is released on Thursday. Higher interest rates and a strong dollar tend to curb the appeal of gold, which generally offers returns only through price gains. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced to the highest level in three weeks.
Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.5 percent to $1,162.84 an ounce, the lowest since March 19, and was at $1,165.03 at 10:22 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.
“Stronger job numbers this afternoon could push gold toward $1,130 an ounce,” Georgette Boele, a strategist at ABN Amro Bank NV, said by phone from Amsterdam. “US economic data have come in better than expected and this supported the dollar.”
Gold dropped 1.7 percent this year as prospects for higher US borrowing costs and a rising dollar outweighed concern that Greece may exit the euro.
Futures for August delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,164.60 on the Comex. Volumes traded were 37 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day.
Silver for immediate delivery climbed 0.4 percent to $15.6411 an ounce. Palladium added 0.4 percent to $700.05 an ounce, while platinum lost 0.3 percent to $1,079.43 an ounce.
* With assistance from Jasmine Ng in Singapore
Bloomberg