Gold Slips on Strong Labor Data

In the futures market, at least one observer noted the absence of investment buying in recent activity and pointed to daytrading activity as the major force for the session.

"The get-me-out-for-the-weekend crowd is dominant in the pit," says George Gero, vice president of futures sales at RBC Capital Markets in New York. Expect longer-term investment demand to kick in on major price dips, he adds.

Elsewhere in economics, the Manhattan-based Economic Cycle Research Institute reported declines in its future inflation gauge indices in February for the U.S., the eurozone and the U.K. The FIG measures a decline in factors that cause a rising price level. Bucking the trend were increases in the FIG's for Canada and Korea.

ECRI also reported a 3.2% rise in its weekly leading index, marking the 20th consecutive uptick in the indicator, which portends favorable business activity in the months to come.

The data will not please the gold bulls, as the price of the metal tends to benefit from an economic malaise rather than the prospect of a soundly expanding U.S. economy and generally lower inflation in the months to come.

Turning to the mining patch, shares of Newmont Mining(NEM Quote) were slipping 0.6% while those of Gold Fields(GFI Quote) were ahead by 0.4%.

As for base metals copper contracts were off 3 cents at $2.80 a pound on the Comex with rising inventories in Shanghai said to be the main catalyst for the dip.