Gold slipped on Monday on profit-taking, but largely retained gains from its biggest jump in nearly nine months in the previous session as weak US jobs data eased fears the Federal Reserve would hike rates this year. Spot gold eased 0.3 percent to $1,134.91 an ounce by 0635 GMT. The metal had gained 2.2 percent on Friday, its biggest one-day rise since January 15.
Data on Friday showed US employers slammed the brakes on hiring over the last two months. Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 142,000 last month, below economist expectations of 203,000. Gold, which had been weighed down all year by expectations the US central bank could soon raise rates, rallied as the dollar fell. The metal is still down nearly 4 percent this year.
"The Fed is extremely unlikely to begin policy normalisation as soon as this month and December is looking tenuous too," ANZ analysts said, referring to the remaining two policy meets scheduled for this year. Silver had also rallied with gold, gaining 5.4 percent on Friday, its sharpest rise since December 2014. On Monday, the metal rose to its highest in two weeks at $15.35, before ticking lower.
Platinum was trading up 0.8 percent at $912, after hitting a near-seven-year-low of $888 in the previous session. Platinum has been hit after revelations last month that Volkswagen falsified US vehicle emission tests, which some believe could affect demand for diesel cars. Platinum is widely used in auto catalysts, particularly for diesel engines. Palladium rose to $708 on Monday, its highest since June, boosted by hopes that demand for gasoline cars, where the metal is used in catalysts, could increase.
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