Investing.com -- Gold fell mildly on Friday amid a relatively flat dollar, as a mixed U.S. jobs report for the month of August provided few signals on the likelihood of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded between $1,116.30 and $1,1232.20 an ounce before settling at 1,120.00, down 4.50 or 0.40% on the session. Gold lost approximately 1% in value on the week, after the moderate gains from Tuesday's session were erased during its current three-session losing streak. The precious metal has now closed lower in nine of its last 11 sessions.
Gold likely gained support at $1,094 an ounce, the low from August 11 and was met with resistance at $1,155.50, the high on Aug. 25.
On Friday morning the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said nonfarm payrolls for the month of August increased by 173,000, below estimates of a 223,000 gain. The figure received a boost from a 56,000 gain in Health Care and social assistance jobs, including an increase of 16,000 in hospital positions. For the month, employment in financial activities rose by 19,000 and has expanded by 170,000 over the last year. Following upward revisions of 44,000 for June and July, monthly job gains have averaged 221,000 over the last three months.
Many economists regard the August jobs report as a tricky one to analyze due to the high percentage of Americans who are away on vacation throughout the month.
The unemployment rate in August fell 0.2% to 5.1%, its lowest level since April, 2008. The rate was expected to fall by 0.1% to 5.2% according to consensus estimates after remaining unchanged in July.
The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader gauge of the national employment situation, inched down 0.1% to 10.3% on the month. The reading measures the total level of unemployed workers plus those marginally attached to the labor force, as well as those who are no longer looking for a job but have looked for one over the last 12 months. In addition, 1.8 million were classified as being marginally attached to the labor force, down from 2.1 million 12 months earlier.
Last August, the U-6 rate stood at 12.0%, after falling by 0.6% from the previous month. By comparison, the U-6 rate peaked above 17% during the height of the financial crisis. It is also a preferred measure of Fed chair Janet Yellen, as she weighs whether the labor market has improved enough to warrant an imminent rate hike.
Gold, which is not attached to interest rates or dividends, struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising rates.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose modestly to an intraday high of 96.59 before falling back to 96.25 in afternoon trading. With several hours left in Friday's session, the index was on pace to gain approximately 0.4% on the week. Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Silver for December delivery fell 0.127 or 0.86% to 14.58 an ounce.
Copper for December delivery plunged 0.071 or 2.99% to 2.313 a pound.