Gold prices higher ended mostly flat but in positive territory on Monday, an advance that was sufficient to end a stumble for the yellow metal at three sessions.

December gold futures GCZ7, +0.63% gained 10 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,264.70 an ounce. September silver SIU7, +0.71% meanwhile, lost 0.1 cent, or less than 0.1%, to finish at $16.251 an ounce. The white metal has ended lower in the past four sessions, marking its longest slump since the five-session drop ended June 21, according to FactSet data.
Monday’s trade comes after Friday’s key employment report beat expectations. That prompted some traders to bet that the U.S. Federal Reserve would have few reasons to hold off on normalizing and raising interest rates, and reducing a $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Both moves can have the effect of tightening monetary policy, making metals, which don’t offer a yield, less attractive compared with yield-bearing assets, including 10-year Treasury notes TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.40%
The U.S. labor market added an impressive 209,000 new jobs in July, more than most economists were banking on, while the unemployment rate fell back to a 16-year low of 4.3%.
Meanwhile, base metals rose, with Dalian iron-ore futures climbing to a four-month high, while Shanghai steel rebar reached its highest levels in five years.
Resource metals enjoyed a bump on the back of speculation that China will order further production capacities to be shut down, Gold prices higher according to a recent research note from Commerzbank.
In exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Shares GLD, +0.29% traded flat, mining-company focused VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, +0.23% was trading down 0.2%, while silver-oriented iShares Silver SLV, +1.50% slipped 0.1%.
Gold prices higher Back on Comex, September copper HGU7, -0.03% added 2.2 cent, or 0.8%, to close at $2.9070 a pound. October platinum PLV7, +0.33% rose $2.60, or 0.3%, at $971.60 an ounce. September palladium PAU7, -0.08% advanced $10.40, or 1.2%, to close at $885.20 an ounce.