LONDON: Gold fell more than 1 per cent on Friday, breaking below chart support at $1,150 an ounce, as the dollar hit a four-year high against a currency basket after upbeat US retail sales data.

Spot gold hit a session low of $1,146.64 after the report and was down 1pc at $1,149.95 an ounce at 1402 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery were down $12.50 an ounce at $1,149.00.

Gold, which is priced in the US unit, has struggled to recover from last week’s 4-1/2-year low of $1,131.85. Gold, set to fall for a third week in four, has suffered from perceptions that the US recovery is outpacing that of other economies.

Holdings of the world’s top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, fell 2 tonnes on Thursday, an eighth straight day of outflows, to a six-year low of 720.62 tonnes. Buying interest in Asia picked up this week, though Japanese consumers sold gold jewellery and bars as yen-priced bullion hit three-month highs.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2014