By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com. The Gold Bull seems doomed to failure with early celebrations these days.

Shortly after feeling euphoric at having returned to $1,800, yellow metal lovers were pushed back to mid-$1,700 territory Friday. Strong September U.S. retail sales led to an increase in speculation that Fed might have to raise interest rates more quickly than planned.

U.S. gold futures’ most active contract, , settled at $1,768.30 per ounce on New York’s Comex, down $29.60, or 1.7%. The session’s low was $1765.10. There was only one consolation: the 0.6% weekly increase.

On Thursday, gold reached almost $1,802, crossing $1,800 the first time since Sept. 15, as it appeared to finally live up to its label as an “inflation hedge” and “safe-haven” days after oil prices hit seven-year highs above $80 per barrel.

But any illusion that the yellow metal would extend its two-day run-up to reach north of $1,900 and — eventually — the $2,000-plus record highs of August 2020 seemed put paid for now.

“Gold was unable to hold onto the $1800 level after a better-than-expected retail sales report and strong round of earnings sent U.S. Treasury yields higher, denting appeal to non-interest-bearing assets,” said Ed Moy, analyst at online trading platform OANDA.

While gold was ripe for profit-taking after its surge to $1,800 levels, “the downward move could extend if Wall Street continues to pump up equities”, Moya noted.

The Commerce Department released September numbers Friday. They showed an increase of almost 14% over the previous year, and 0.7% monthly growth since August.

Investing.com’s economists had predicted a decrease of 0.2% in retail sales for September due to inflation and the effects of the pandemic. However, almost all key sectors of the economy experienced positive sales. This is good news ahead of the holidays shopping season from October to December.

Retail sales increased, extending gains to the. The previous session saw its strongest day in seven month in the past session.

“Gold bulls still need to be patient,” added Moya. “Gold appears poised to consolidate here, but the start of a new bullish trend is around the corner once the global economic recovery gets on track and the dollar loses its dominance.”