Gold hit its lowest level in nearly 17 months on Friday and some analysts expect further slide, according to Reuters. Spot gold was down 0.11% at $1,209.24 an ounce after earlier dropping to its lowest since March 15 last year at $1,204. US gold futures were down 0.26% at $1,216.90 an ounce. The dollar hit a two-week high as investors braced for a strong US jobs report. US employment is expected to increase by 190,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9%. Strong numbers may push yields and the dollar higher and add to fears of more interest rate hikes. China's offshore yuan hit a fresh 13-month low of 6.9050 in Asian trading after the Trump administration threatened to double tariffs on a range of Chinese imports worth about $200 billion and Beijing vowed to retaliate. Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.1% to $15.32/oz and was on track for an eighth straight weekly decline, its longest weekly losing streak since at least late 2000. Platinum added 0.2% to $823.49/oz while palladium ticked 0.3% higher to $914.50/oz.