2014.08.0100:57:45UTC+00Gold set for longest decline in 10 months

Gold is on track to record both a third losing week in a row and its longest downward streak since September last year due to incoming data expected to bode well for the US economy.

Spot gold dropped to a price per ounce of as low as $1,279.30, the lowest since June 19th, after losing 0.3%. It was trading at $1,283.84 mid morning Singapore time, Bloomberg pricing data says. The precious metal depreciated the most in more than a year last month in July by falling 3.4%. Gold sharply decreased in 2013 by 28% when the Federal Reserve first hinted it would start tapering off its bonds buying program.

Gold with a delivery date in December in New York’s Comex, meanwhile, gained 0.2% for a price per ounce of $1,285. Assets in the largest bullion backed exchange traded product, however, were unchanged for the fifth day at 801.8 metric tons.

Expected out today is the latest information on the US labor market which may show that the number of jobs created in the past month again surpassed 200,000 to make July the sixth month it has done so. A separate report released yesterday showed that the number of claims for unemployment benefits dipped to its lowest in eight years even as the Federal Reserve said that there is still significant room for the labor market to improve.

Sarah Xie, analyst for WIng Fung Financial Group Ltd., says that, “Gold prices continued to pull back as stronger-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy damped demand for safety plays.”

Spot palladium was up today from yesterday’s $872.88 per ounce to $872.95 after it successfully achieved a thirteen year best  sixth straight month of gains. It reached its highest since February 2001 on July 17th with a price of $889.75.

Silver for immediate delivery rounded up July yesterday with a monthly decline and was down to $20.3778 today from $20.3962.