Gold Settles Lower As Robust Economic Data Boost Risky Assets

Gold prices retreated Wednesday following three sessions of gains as better-than-expected employment data revived appetite for riskier assets such as stocks. The U.S. private sector added 253,000 jobs in March, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc., significantly ahead of the 170,000 projected by economists. June gold shed $9.90, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,248.50 an ounce. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to trade at 2,377 in early afternoon.