Gold has rallied this year as investors snapped up precious metals as a bet against inflation. But the dollar gained strength on Friday on a better-than-expected US jobs report. The dollar also rose after Fitch downgraded the credit ratings of Italy and Spain.

Gold for December delivery fell $17.40 on Friday, or 1 percent, to $1,635.80 an ounce. December silver lost $1.012, or 3.16 percent, to close at $30.993.

Gold closed at $1,657.70 an ounce on Monday. The price fell as low as $1,616 an ounce on Tuesday as traders worried that prices had been overinflated during a rally this summer when gold hit $1,891.90.

On Friday morning the US Department of Labor reported that US employers added 103,000 jobs in September, an improvement from the month before. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 percent. The report eased concerns that the US economy might be headed for another recession.

That optimism, in turn, supported the dollar, hurting gold’s value.

“It looks like the jobs figure this morning was not inflationary enough to really push gold to the upside,” said George Gero, senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management in New York.

At the same time, the Fitch rating agency lowered the credit ratings of Italy and Spain. That pushed up the dollar against the euro.

Copper for December delivery gained 2.7 cents to end at $3.2735 a pound. January platinum fell $14.80, or nearly 1 percent, to finish at $1,497.30 an ounce and December palladium lost $12.95, or 2 percent, to $585.85 an ounce.

(AP)