CHICAGO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday on better than expected U.S. jobs data.
The most active gold contract for February delivery fell 5.6 U.S. dollars, or 0.31 percent, to close at 1,809.6 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 263,000 in November, well above the 200,000 estimate, and the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, in line with expectations.
While Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's remarks of slowing rate hikes in December early this week have boosted gold, the stronger than expected jobs data had some higher inflation implications, likely resulting in the U.S. central bank's reluctance to back off too much on its aggressive monetary policy tightening, market analysts hold.
Answering questions after a speech at Loyola University on Friday, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the Fed is on a path to getting inflation back to its goal.
Silver for March delivery rose 40.9 cents, or 1.79 percent, to close at 23.25 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery fell 28.3 dollars, or 2.68 percent, to close at 1,026.6 dollars per ounce.
