Gold falls

Bengaluru

Gold fell on Friday to extend losses of nearly 1 percent from the previous session, with the dollar firming following robust U.S. economic data that boosted expectations of a U.S. rate hike.

Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,223 per ounce by 0110 GMT.

On Wednesday, the metal touched its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,244.67. U.S. gold futures dropped one percent to $1,224.40 an ounce.

Data showing rising U.S. wholesale inventories and an unexpectedly low number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits pushed up the dollar .

and U.S. bond yields. The dollar index was firm at 100.680. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, a voter on policy this year, told reporters it is reasonable to expect the Fed to raise rates three times this year.