MTECHTIPS

MTECHTIPS:-Gold trades flat as market interprets U.S. employment data

Gold prices were flat in Asian trading on Monday as investors continued to favor dollar positions upon concluding that an improvement in the U.S. unemployment rate did not depict a firming labor market and a rebounding U.S. economy.On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were up 0.02% at USD1,781.15 a troy ounce, up from a session low of USD1,779.15 and down from a high of USD1,781.55 a troy ounce.Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,774.95 a troy ounce, Friday's low, and resistance at USD1,798.05, Friday's high.Gold and the dollar historically trade inversely from one another, and the greenback rose early Monday as investors viewed the September jobs report with a degree of skepticism and avoided risk.The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% percent in September from 8.1% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.Employers added a net 114,000 jobs in September, while households reported that total employment rose by 873,000 in September following three months of little change.