Singapore: Gold fell from the highest level since October after the US jobless rate slid to a 2008 low and hourly earnings rose more than estimated, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy.

Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.8 per cent to $1,164.30 an ounce before trading at $1,165.27 by 3:49 pm in Singapore. The metal surged to $1,174.69 on Friday, the highest since October 28, and had its best week in more than two years as stock markets tumbled, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Most Asian markets are closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

The US jobless rate was 4.9 per cent in January, even as the creation of 151,000 jobs trailed the 190,000 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. Earnings per hour for all employees rose 0.5 per cent on average from the prior month, the most in a year, the Labour Department said.

Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest producer, climbed 3.7 per cent to A$15.52 in Sydney. Gold broke convincingly above the 200-day moving average last week, exceeding the level for the first time since October. Such a move is considered bullish by traders who follow chart patterns.

“We’re not surprised to see gold have a mild pull-back after pushing through its 200-day moving average and over $1,150 last week,” Jordan Eliseo, chief economist at trader Australian Bullion Co. in Sydney, said by e-mail. “Physical flows may be a little light this week with China on holiday, but we expect the market to consolidate recent gains.”

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is due to address lawmakers this week in Washington, possibly providing further signals on interest rate policy. North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday prompted the US and South Korea to announce talks on the possible deployment of a missile defence system.

Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose 0.5 per cent to 1,555.4 metric tonnes as of Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the 15th consecutive rise.

Spot silver retreated 0.6 per cent, platinum lost 0.5 per cent and palladium gained 0.3 per cent.