Bullion posted its first loss of 2019 on Friday and the biggest in two weeks as stronger-than-expected US payrolls data crimped demand for the metal as a haven. The decline eroded gold’s weekly gain, which was the third straight.

The slide comes after bullion rose above US$1,300 an ounce earlier for the first time since June as investors piled into the metal amid a slump in equities, a US government shutdown and mounting concerns over the outlook for global economic growth. Haven demand for bullion was also curbed Friday by the prospect of a thaw in US-China trade tensions.

The payrolls figures was a “monster number,” said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO Capital Markets.

Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.7% to settle at US$1,285.80 an ounce at 1.30pm on the Comex in New York, the biggest decline since Dec 21. The metal rose 0.2% for the week.

With signs of a global slowdown stacking up amid the US-China trade war and softening factory activity, analysts said it’s too soon to write off gold’s rally. Gold pared losses of as much as 1.3% after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said policy is flexible and that officials are “listening carefully” to the financial markets, potentially laying the groundwork for a pause in the Fed’s campaign of gradual interest-rate hikes.

‘‘Overall, the data is still somewhat mixed,’’ Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK Ltd., said in an email.