Gold price tumbles 5% on US recovery hopes

The price of gold fell more than 5% as investors became more confident about the health of the global economy following comments yesterday from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

Gold hit a low of $1,688.44 an ounce in New York on Wednesday, after trading as high as $1,791.49 an ounce. However, it recovered in Asia where it was trading at $1719.34 an ounce on Thursday. The fall in the price of the safe haven asset came after the announcement US GDP for Q4 2011 had been revised up from 2.8% to 3%, driven by stronger consumer and business spending. Sentiment was further boosted by comments from Bernanke who said the US economy is continuing to recover, although growth is 'bumpy and modest'. He said the decline in unemployment has been more rapid than expected...