Gold ends lower, but remains above $2,000 and posts weekly gains

Gold prices fell on Friday, as the US dollar rose against its major counterparts, but the yellow metal is still above the $2,000 barrier and posted weekly gains.

The US Labor Department released its reading for the non-farm employment change index, as the economy has added around 1.8 million jobs in July, higher than forecasts of 1.530 million, and the unemployment rate fell to 10.2% vs. 11.1%.

US President Donald Trump issued executive orders on Thursday banning US transactions with Chinese applications WeChat and TikTok for 45 days.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.7% to 93.4 points as of 18:08 GMT, after it hit a high of 93.4 and a low of 92.7.

Gold December futures fell 2% to close at $2,041.4 an ounce, and posted 2.2% weekly gains, after hitting a day high of $2,089.2 and a low of $2,024.8.