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Gold down 1 per cent on US retail data, India duty hike

Gold fell 1 per cent on Tuesday, set to snap a four-day winning streak, weighed down by better US consumer spending data and after top market India hiked its import duty on gold to a record 10 per cent.

Bullion came under pressure after a report by the Commerce Department showed US consumer spending rose in July at its fastest pace in seven months, an encouraging sign that could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve winding down its economic stimulus program.

The metal extended loses as the dollar rose to a one-week high against both the euro and the yen on the US retail data.

"The story right now is the stronger dollar, and the huge increase of import duties by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to weigh on physical demand," said Howard Wen, metal analyst at HSBC.

India raised import taxes on gold and silver on Tuesday as policymakers scrambled to narrow a gaping current account deficit. It marked the third such increase in eight months.

Spot gold fell 1.2 per cent to $1,320.31 by 1613 GMT.

US Comex gold futures for December delivery dropped $14 to $1,320.70 an ounce, with trading volume on track to finish below its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed.

Silver largely tracked gold's fall. It last traded a penny lower at $21.34 an ounce, having earlier risen to a two-month high of $21.76 an ounce.

Among platinum group metals, platinum edged down 0.2 per cent to $1,489.99 an ounce, while palladium gained $1 to $737 an ounce.

Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013