Gold eases from one-month high on profit taking

Gold bars

Gold prices declined today, July 8, as investors booked profits after bullion hit a more than one-month high in the previous session.

Bullion for August delivery eased 0.25%, or $5.90, to $2,391.80 per ounce at 08:32 am Makkah time, with spot prices also down 0.39% to $2,382.81 an ounce.

Similarly, silver futures for July delivery edged 1% lower to $31.36 per ounce, in tandem with a 0.61% slip in platinum spot prices to $1,023.80 an ounce.

The most active gold contracts ended Friday's session up by 1.2%, strengthening their gains over the past week to 2.5%.

This came after official data released late last week showed that the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in June, with the unemployment rate soaring to 4.1% from 4% in the previous month, recording its highest level in two and a half years, an indication of slowing labor market momentum.

This raised estimates of the Federal Reserve's rate cut at the September meeting to 78%, with investors anticipating another cut in December.