Aug 9 (Reuters) - Gold skidded as much as 4.4% to a more than four-month low on Monday as robust U.S. jobs data stoked fears that the Federal Reserve would raises rates quicker than expected, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing bullion. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold fell 2.3% to $1,722.06 per ounce by 0048 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices touched $1,684.37, their lowest since March 31. * U.S. gold futures slipped 2.1% to $1,726.40. * Gold prices broke below their bull-market defining trendline for the first time since 2019, fuelling significant stop-outs and melting gold’s prices, TD Securities said in a note. * U.S. employers hired the most workers in nearly a year in July and continued to raise wages, giving the economy a powerful boost as it started the second half of what many economists believe will be the best year for growth in almost four decades. * The data underscored remarks by Fed officials suggesting a sooner than anticipated roll-back of pandemic-era stimulus on the back of a solid labour market recovery. * The data boosted the dollar and benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields, hurting gold’s appeal as an inflation hedge. * Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 1,025.28 tonnes on Friday, from 1,027.61 tonnes on Thursday. * India’s physical gold market flipped into a small premium last week for the first time in a month as prices eased although activity was still subdued. * Silver slumped as much as 7.5% hitting a more than eight-month low of $22.50 per ounce earlier in the session. It was last down 2.6% at $23.70. * Platinum fell 1.5% to $965.50, having earlier hit a low since November 2020 of $959.93. * Palladium rose 0.2% to $2,633.35. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0130 China PPI, CPI YY July n/a China Exports/Imports July (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.