Gold prices fell sharply today, falling by 3%, which was associated with a marked strengthening of the dollar. It should be noted that the dynamics of trade have influenced the data on U.S. employment, which could persuade the Fed to begin scaling back its monetary stimulus this year.

In the U.S. employers added 195,000 jobs in June, a sign of major improvement in the labor market, said the Ministry of Labour. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.6%. The results exceeded expectations. Economists had expected growth of 162,000 and unemployment down to 7.5% from 7.6% in May.

U.S. employers added an average of 182,000 jobs each month for the past year, said the Ministry of Labour. Growth in employment in May rose by 195,000 originally reported 175,000 and 199,000 in April, compared with an earlier estimate of 149,000.

The Federal Reserve monitors the data on employment. Improvements could signal the imminent release of the 85-billion program of bond purchases. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the program could end if unemployment reaches 7%. The Fed said it may start to raise interest rates after the rate will fall to 6.5%.

We also add that the precious metal came under pressure after the European Central Bank signaled yesterday that can reduce interest rates.

The data also showed that the stock of gold in exchange-traded funds decreased by $ 4.1 billion in June and $ 28.2 billion, compared with the same period a year earlier.

The cost of the August gold futures on the COMEX fell today to $ 1214.50 per ounce.