Gold ends in red, logs losses for 2nd straight week

Gold bars

Gold prices finished in the red today, Sept. 9, with the US dollar rising as focus shifted to the upcoming economic data on the US labor market.

Bullion for December delivery shed 0.75%, or $18.50, to close at $2,524.60 per ounce, as the yellow metal extended its losses for the second straight week, plunging by 0.1% since the start of the week.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, climbed by 0.1% to 101.23 points at 09:36 pm Makkah time.

US non-farm payrolls added 142,000 new jobs in August, from 89,000 in July. However, this missed expectations for 161,000. The last two months saw significant downward adjustments, which fueled concerns about the size of the widely expected monetary easing.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said inflation is falling steadily toward the US central bank's 2% target, underlining that now is the time for the Fed to start trimming interest rates.