Gold fell on Friday and headed for a second straight weekly decline as easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China and a strong jobs report kept prices pressured.

Spot gold fell 0.4% to $3,228.50 an ounce by 1:41 p.m. ET (1741 GMT). Prices were down 2.6% for the week, after hitting a record $3,500.05 on April 22. They hit their lowest since April 14 on Thursday.

U.S. gold futures settled 0.6% higher at $3,243.30.

China's commerce ministry said the U.S. has repeatedly expressed its willingness to negotiate on tariffs and that Beijing's door is open for talks. "Gold looks like $3,500 could be the high for a while, especially if some trade deals start to materialize and some of the risks start to come out of the negative euphoria that we've seen since the tariff talks," said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

The data showed that nonfarm payrolls rose by 177,000 jobs last month. A Reuters poll had forecast a gain of 130,000.

However, the report is retrospective and it is too early for the labor market to show the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sometimes-imposed tariff policies.

Traders trimmed bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as early as June after the jobs report.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose. Higher interest rates tend to make non-yielding bullion less attractive to investors. "With the safe haven demand weakening, prices could fall further and potentially breach this week's support near the $3,200 area," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.

Spot silver fell 1.3% to $31.98 an ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $959.20 and palladium rose 0.6% to $946.18. All three metals are on track for weekly declines. (Newsmaker23)

Source: Reuters