Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Wednesday as a report showed increased orders for American goods.
The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped $5.1, or 0.47 percent, to settle at $1,085.60 per ounce.
Gold was put under pressure as a report released by the US-based Institute for Supply Management showed much better than expected strength, with the July non-manufacturing index rising to 60.3, Xinhua reported on Thursday.
Analysts say this is the highest reading in 10 years. They also took note of an increase in new orders and backlog orders, to 63.8 and 54.0 respectively.