Gold keeps falling on upbeat economic data

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange kept falling on upbeat economic data on Wednesday. The most active gold contract for February delivery dropped 4.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.33 percent, to settle at 1,225.5 dollars per ounce. Automatic Data Processing Inc. said Wednesday private employers added 238,000 jobs in December, the biggest gain since November 2012. A further recovery in the jobs market boosted the dollar, which in turn dampened gold. Gold prices fell further in electronic trading after the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent meeting. Released after the official close of gold trading on COMEX, the minutes showed that Fed officials were largely in agreement on the decision to begin scaling back the massive bond-buying program as they predicted continuing economic recovery and labor market improvement As long as the Fed maintains its decision to scale back bond purchases, the chances for gold to go up will be minimal, market analysts believe. They predict that the trend for gold in much of 2014 will be negative. Silver for March delivery lost 24.8 cents, or 1.25 percent, to close at 19.539 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery shed 1.2 dollars, or 0.08 percent, to close at 1,414.2 dollars per ounce.