Gold falls more than 2% on rising dollar

Gold prices fell on Thursday, as the US dollar rose against most currencies, lifted by upbeat US economic data.

The US retail sales index rose 0.7% in August, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.7%.

The core retail sales reading (excluding food and fuel prices) rose 1.8%, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.1%.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the number of initial unemployment claims was at 332K last week from 325K, lower than forecasts of 332K.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 92.9 points as of 17:19 GMT, after hitting a high of 92.9 points and a low of 92.4 points.

As of 17:20 GMT, gold spot prices fell 2.2% to $1,755.8 an ounce, after hitting a high of $1,797.3 and a low of $1,745.5.