Gold prices decline on weak economic performance and closing the U.S. Government .

From the beginning, gold fell by almost 25 percent due to concerns that the Fed this year will decline in buying bonds. Before you start reducing the incentives , the Fed need to get the October economic data , said the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston , Eric Rosengren . But many federal agencies have suspended the collection and publication of data due to the termination of funding .

Markets are worried about the outcome of the upcoming negotiations in mid-October to raise the upper limit of borrowing dollars. According to analysts, if the politicians fail to agree on raising the debt ceiling , the world 's largest economy could default that will hurt global growth .

Activity in the U.S. non-manufacturing sector grew in September , but at a much slower pace than expected . Employment growth also slowed. This is according to data released on Thursday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Reported Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the non-production sphere of the United States in September fell to 54.4 from 58.6 in August. The August index was the highest since January 2008 , when the index was introduced . Economists expected the index to decline only in September to 57.2 . A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity .

Stocks of the world's largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust on Wednesday declined by 4.2 tons to 901.79 tons, which was the sharpest decline in nearly three weeks .

Physical demand remains depressed due to a national holiday in China. Chinese markets will resume work on October 8.

The cost of the December gold futures on COMEX today dropped to $ 1302.00 per ounce.