Gold Near Its Lowest Levels

Gold prices stabilized near their lowest levels in three weeks on Thursday, following a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. private sector jobs in July, which boosted bets on further monetary tightening in the United States and pushed the dollar and bond yields higher. There was little change in gold in spot trading at $1935.20 per ounce, as of 01:00 GMT, remaining close to its lowest levels since July 12, recorded in the previous session. Silver in the spot market fell 0.1% to $23.72 per ounce, while platinum decreased 0.4% to $917.74, with both metals reaching their lowest levels in about three weeks. Palladium dropped 0.5% to $1237.19 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1970.90. The dollar index rose to its highest level in four weeks, and the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds reached its highest since November on Wednesday after data showed that U.S. private sector jobs grew by 324,000 last month.