CHICAGO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday as the dollar went much higher, along with worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data. Silver and platinum both went down, too.

    Gold price for August delivery lost 10.30 U.S. dollars, or 1.1 percent, finishing at 931 dollars an ounce.

    The dollar recovered quickly from Wednesday's loss after the U.S. Labor Department reported a disappointing jobs data, which indicated the U.S. nonfarm payrolls shrank by 467,000 in June, much worse than the analysts' expectation of 325,000.

    By the end of gold floor trading time in New York, the U.S. currency's rate against euro climbed 1.31 cents to 1.4011 dollars. The appreciation of dollar stole gold's appeal of hedge and curbed the demand for the precious metal.

    The dim prospects of employment also threw a shadow on crude oil as investors worried the energy demand will be reduced. The benchmark contract for August delivery lost more than two dollars to 67.04 dollars a barrel. Oil's loss is generally considered as a sign that indicates the inflation risk is weakening, which makes gold less attractive for investors.

    Analysts pointed out that profit-taking selling ahead of the Independence Day long weekend helped to pressure the yellow metal to finish lower.

    September silver finished at 13.408 dollars per ounce, down 35.2 cents. October platinum fell 11.80 dollars to 1,193.30 dollars an ounce.