March U.S. payrolls rise by 236,000
About 68 chance of Fed rate hike in May
Focus on U.S. CPI data on Wednesday

April 10 Reuters Gold fell on Monday after strong U.S. jobs numbers rekindled bets for another interest rate hike and buoyed the dollar, but persistent economic risks kept safehaven bullion near the 2,000 level.

Spot gold fell 0.3 to 2,000.86 per ounce by 1034 GMT, while U.S. gold futures delivery slipped 0.5 to 2,015.50.

U.S. Labor Department data on Friday showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 jobs last month.

Markets now see the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates next month,

Gold39;s recent decline may also be a technical pullback from near overbought conditions, said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity.

But signs that U.S. disinflation is gathering pace, allowing the Fed to pause its rate hikes sooner rather than later, may restore gold to recent highs, Tan added.

Gold is traditionally considered a hedge against inflation, but higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the nonyielding asset.

Gold breached the 2,000 level last week as some weak U.S. data exacerbated slowdown risks following a surge in oil prices.

The bull trend, established since November 2022, is still intact, metals firm MKS PAMP said in a note.

However, a stickier core U.S. CPI would solidify a 25 bps hike and ensure, unless there39;s a new catalyst, gold prices might not hit alltime highs this month.

The U.S. CPI print is due at…