Gold falls on upbeat U.S. private job data

Reuters (09/01) - Gold prices fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, weighed down by upbeat U.S. private-sector jobs data and minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting that showed the central bank was set to wind down its bond purchases at a steady pace.

Minutes of the Fed's Dec. 17-18 policy meeting, released on Wednesday, showed many members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee wanted to proceed with caution in trimming the asset purchases, and most wanted to stress that further reductions were not on a preset course. The U.S. central bank's plans to trim its massive bond-buying program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month and an improving U.S. economic outlook will continue to pressure the metal, traders said. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,226.76 an ounce by 3:12 p.m. EST (2012 GMT). U.S. Comex gold futures for February delivery settled down $4.10 an ounce at $1,225.50, with trading volume about 5 percent below the 250-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Bullion fell after the ADP National Employment Report showed U.S. private employers added a bigger-than-expected 238,000 jobs in December, the strongest increase in 13 months.