Gold Eases on Stronger Dollar after Upbeat Jobs Data

Gold prices edged down early on Monday on a stronger dollar following a positive U.S. jobs data published late last week, but a decline in stocks cushioned the fall.

Spot gold has fallen 0.1 percent to $1,331.80 per ounce. Spot gold on Friday declined by 1.2 percent, marking its biggest one-day decline since December 7. In the previous week, the precious metal experienced its biggest weekly fall since the week ending December 8.

U.S. gold futures traded down 0.1 percent at $1,336 per ounce.

In January, non-farm payrolls increased by 200, 00 jobs, according to the Labor Department, surpassing the expected 180, 000 increase and their biggest annual gain in over eight and a half years.

Average hourly earnings increased and bolstered the annual gain to 2.9 percent, the biggest since June 2009.

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