Gold Slips on Strong Labor Data

Robust employment data and brighter-than-predicted trade figures boosted the dollar Friday, sending gold lower, eliminating the metal's early gains.

Contracts for April delivery of bullion were slipping $4.10 to $651.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session prices lifted as high as $659.80 before reversing. The exchange-traded funds that hold stores of the metal, iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU Quote) and streetTracks Gold Shares(GLD Quote), were up a slight 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

At 8.30 a.m. EST the Labor Department reported lower-than-expected unemployment figures and a higher-than-expected increase in hourly earnings for February. At the same time the Commerce Department published numbers showing a smaller-than-expected trade deficit in January. ...