2021.08.0918:55:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Sharply Lower

Gold prices fell sharply on Monday, extending the sharp slide seen on the previous session, as the dollar surged higher after recent data showing a stronger than expected jobs data raised hopes the central bank might start tapering its asset buying program sooner than earlier thought.

The dollar index rose to 92.97, gaining nearly 0.2%.

Gold futures for December ended down by $36.60 or about 2.1% at $1,726.50 an ounce, the lowest settlement since March 31.

Silver futures for September ended lower by $1.057 or about 3.8% at $23.269 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $4.2895 per pound, down $0.0585 or 1.3% from the previous close.

Data released by the Labor Department on Friday showed non-farm payroll employment spiked by 943,000 jobs in July after surging by an upwardly revised 938,000 jobs in June.

Economists had expected employment to jump by 870,000 jobs compared to the addition of 850,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The stronger than expected job growth was partly due to sharp increases in employment in leisure and hospitality and local government education, which shot up by 380,000 jobs and 221,000 jobs, respectively.

Reflecting the strong job growth, the unemployment rate slid to 5.4% in July from 5.9% in June, falling to its lowest level since March of 2020. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to dip to 5.7%.

The outlook for U.S. monetary policy might be affected by the latest U.S. inflation data. Markets also look ahead to speeches from several Federal Reserve officials scheduled for this week.