Investing.com - Gold prices dropped on Thursday in wake of upbeat U.S. growth data and a Federal Reserve decision to close its monthly bond-buying program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 2.09% at $1,199.30, up from a session low of $1,195.70 and off a high of $1,216.50.
The December contract settled down 0.37% at $1,224.940 on Wednesday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,183.30 a troy ounce, the low from Oct. 6, and resistance at $1,235.50, Tuesday's high.
Ultra-loose U.S. monetary policies that have supported gold prices since the 2008 financial crisis are on their way out now that the economy is gaining steam.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that the U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the three months to September, beating forecast for 3% growth, which fueled demand for the greenback on expectations that the Federal Reserve remains set to hike interest rates in 2015, thus sending gold prices falling as the two assets tend to trade inversely with one another.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it was ending its monthly bond-buying program due to improvements taking place in the labor market.
Elsewhere, the Labor Department reported earlier that the number of individuals filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by 3,000 to 287,000, confounding market forecasts for a decline to 283,000.
The data did little to spark demand for gold, as a longer-term view of the labor market still points to recovery.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was down 4.70% at $16.453 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were down 1.30% at $3.064 a pound.