Gold falls to lowest level in almost 17-months
August 3, 20181.3K views0 comments
Gold hit its lowest level in nearly 17 months on Friday and some analysts expect further slide, according to Reuters.
Spot gold was down 0.11% at $1,209.24 an ounce after earlier dropping to its lowest since March 15 last year at $1,204. US gold futures were down 0.26% at $1,216.90 an ounce.
The dollar hit a two-week high as investors braced for a strong US jobs report.
US employment is expected to increase by 190,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9%.
Strong numbers may push yields and the dollar higher and add to fears of more interest rate hikes.
China’s offshore yuan hit a fresh 13-month low of 6.9050 in Asian trading after the Trump administration threatened to double tariffs on a range of Chinese imports worth about $200 billion and Beijing vowed to retaliate.
Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.1% to $15.32/oz and was on track for an eighth straight weekly decline, its longest weekly losing streak since at least late 2000.
Platinum added 0.2% to $823.49/oz while palladium ticked 0.3% higher to $914.50/oz.