The price of gold reached a two-week low after a sharp drop on Thursday caused by profit-taking at the end of the month , strong economic performance and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.

Business activity in the U.S. Midwest in October exceeded forecasts by increasing the volume of new orders to the maximum level in 2004 , while the number of applications for unemployment benefits fell last week.

The published data on Friday Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that despite the suspension of the government , manufacturing activity in the U.S. in October remained at a high level as last month. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in the U.S. October was 56.4 against 56.2 in September. The October index was the highest since April 2011 .

Investors fear that the improvement in the economy will force the Fed will soon begin to reduce the volume of buying bonds to $ 85 billion a month.

The outflow of funds from the world's largest secured gold ETF SPDR Gold Trust this year has exceeded $ 20 billion , and its reserves are close to a minimum of four years.

China in September, the fifth consecutive month, bought more than 100 tons of gold in Hong Kong due to the high demand for jewelry and bullion. This year, China could become the world's largest consumer of gold instead of India .

The cost of the December gold futures on COMEX today dropped to $ 1305.60 per ounce.