Gold slips

New York/London

Gold fell 1 percent on Friday after better-than-expected US jobs data boosted the beleaguered dollar and potentially cleared the way for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for a third time this year.

US employers hired more workers than expected in July and raised their hourly earnings by the most in five months, signs of labor market tightness and offering the Fed some assurance that inflation will gradually rise to its 2 percent target.

The US dollar , which was wallowing near 15-month lows prior to the figures, rallied after the release, making dollar-priced gold costlier for non-US investors.

US gold futures for December delivery settled down 0.8 percent at $1,264.60. "This triggered a sell from safe haven buyers of gold and silver," said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York. "Though the US dollar´s strength weighs on (gold and silver), the market is still not convinced that this data does anything to change the Fed´s trajectory.”