Good job numbers are killing gold longs' hopes for a rate cut.

A stellar U.S. employment report for June reset market expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate reduction later this month, sending both bullion and futures of gold skidding on Friday to below the key $1,400 level.

Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, traded at $1,398.26 an ounce by 1:20 PM ET (17:06 GMT), down $17.08, or 1.2%, on the day. Bullion earlier peaked at $1,424.24. It fell nearly 1% on the week for its first weekly loss in seven.

Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, traded at $1,399.75 an ounce by 1:20 PM ET (17:06 GMT), down $21.20, or 1.5%, on the day. It earlier peaked at $1,426.65. August gold also fell nearly 1% on the week, its steepest decline in three weeks.

The U.S. added 224,000 jobs in June versus a forecast growth of 160,000. While unemployment is still at a near 50-year low, Friday's jobs growth was still the highest in five months.

Source : Investing.com