Investing.com - Gold prices eased in Asia on Monday with few demand drivers seen from major buyers in India and China.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery traded at $1,319.10 a troy ounce, down 0.17%, after ending in the past week at $1,321.30 a troy ounce.
Gold came under pressure on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor said non-farm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 288,000 in June, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 212,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to a five-and-a-half year low of 6.1% from 6.3% in May. Analysts had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 6.3% last month.
The upbeat jobs report bolstered the outlook for the broader economic recovery and revived speculation over when the Federal Reserve may start to raise interest rates.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Wednesdays’ minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, with few other major U.S. economic reports on the calendar.
Also on the Comex, silver for September delivery fell 0.28% to $21.140 a troy ounce.
Copper for September delivery rose 0.06% to $3.271 a pound.
Copper traders will be looking ahead to key inflation and trade data out of China due later in the week. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption.