Gold Slides as Strong Jobs Report Fuels Hawkish Bets on Fed Rate Hike

Gold prices fell by about 0.80% on Friday, following losses of over 2% after an upbeat US jobs report was released. The strong Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data boosted expectations for a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike in September, as inflation data next week could confirm tightening bets.

The US Dollar stayed firm despite the post-jobs yield spike fading, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) up 0.13% at 99.13. The DXY measures the performance of the US Dollar against six currencies.

Money markets have priced in a 61% chance for a rate increase by the Fed at the September meeting, up from 54% a day ago. Traders await next week's Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to confirm rate hike expectations.