Gold prices log 7th straight loss By Myra P. Saefong and William...

Gold prices log 7th straight loss
By Myra P. Saefong and William Watts
Published: Mar 8, 2017 3:17 p.m. ET
Yellow metal’s price down after strong U.S. private-sector jobs data
Gold futures extended a slump into a seventh consecutive session Wednesday, sending the yellow metal to its lowest finish since the start of February, after data showed a jump in private-sector job creation last month.

The labor report further cemented expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.

Gold for April delivery on Comex GCJ7, -0.19% fell $6.70, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,209.40 an ounce—the lowest settlement for futures prices since Feb. 1, according to FactSet. May silver SIK7, -0.28% also declined 23.8 cents, or 1.4%, to $17.298 an ounce.

Payrolls-processor ADP said the U.S. added 298,000 private-sector jobs in February, the most since April 2014. Analysts view the employment data as a guide to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, set for release Friday.

“This is an extremely hot read,” said Bill Baruch, chief market strategist at iiTRADER, referring to the ADP data. However, unit labor costs and productivity data were mixed, he said.

Don’t forget that we still have the European Central Bank meeting Thursday and the official U.S. nonfarm payroll jobs report Friday, Baruch said. “At this point, gold could see a bump up if nonfarm payroll misses, but buyers should remain cautious until after the Fed meeting next week.”

Expectations for a faster tightening cycle from the Fed have lent strength to the dollar DXY, -0.01%which has helped undermine gold. A stronger dollar can weigh on gold by making the metal, which is priced in the U.S. currency, more expensive to nondollar users.

Steep losses for crude-oil prices CLJ7, +0.70%LCOK7, +0.85% Wednesday also contributed to gold’s decline, said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.

“Given that crude oil prices are arguably the leader of the raw commodity sector, Wednesday’s bearish downside breakout is also a big negative for the raw commodity sector, including the precious metals,” he said in a note.

Read: Here’s why U.S. oil data should rattle OPEC nerves

In other metals trade, April platinum PLJ7, +0.23% fell $11.60, or 1.2%, to $949.50 an ounce, while June palladium PAM7, -0.04% lost $4.60, or 0.6%, to $770.40 an ounce. May copper HGK7, -0.23% fell 1.8 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.601 a pound.