LONDON: Gold fell almost 2 per cent to a two-month low on Friday after better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls fuelled speculation the Federal Reserve will raise rates sooner rather than later.

Spot gold dipped 1.8pc to its lowest since Jan. 2 at $1,175.40 an ounce earlier and was down 1.6pc at $1,178.64 by 1401 GMT. The metal was heading for its fifth straight session of losses and for its biggest weekly loss for a month.

US gold for April delivery was down $17.80 an ounce at $1,178.30. Prices on the Shanghai Gold Exchange suggested physical demand for gold in China, the second biggest bullion consumer, remained at healthy levels.

Spot silver fell to its lowest level in two months at $15.77 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.6pc at$816.50 an ounce and platinum 1.1pc to $1,161.24 an ounce.

Published in Dawn March 7th , 2015

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