Spot Gold Falls to $1,238.10 per Ounce

Gold dropped 0.5 percent, or $6.61, to $1,238.10 per ounce on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The precious metal lost some of its appeal as strong U.S. retail figures and the World Bank raising its forecast for global growth laid hopes of a delay in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stimulus tapering to rest.

“Gold is very sensitive to U.S. economic data as that directly affects the outlook for tapering,” a precious metals trader in Hong Kong told Reuters.

U.S. gold futures for February delivery declined $8.00 to $1,237.20 an ounce.