国际英语新闻：Gold retreats for the first time this week on upbeat U.S. job data

CHICAGO, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended a three-session winning streak and gave up all the previous session's gains on Thursday, as an upbeat U.S. job report outweighed the dollar's losses, eroding the precious metal's appeal as a safe-haven. Silver also reversed gains.

The most active gold contract for February delivery lost 7.6 dollars, or 0.5 percent, to 1,405.9 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that the initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ended Dec. 25 dropped 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the lowest reading since early July 2008, which was well below analysts'forecast of 415,000.

The surprisingly upbeat U.S. employment report, serving as a signal of the nascent labor market strength, boosted investors' risk appetite on Thursday and eroded the appeal of safe-haven assets such as gold and dollar.

A trader mentioned that the weaker dollar failed to lift the gold price, as recent consecutive gains in the precious metal attracted some investors to cash in profits before the end of year.

Silver futures for March delivery dropped 19.1 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 30.513 dollars per ounce.