The gold price has taken a hit in the American session today after strong data out of the US boosted the greenback and increased the chances next month of a rate hike from the US federal reserve.

Gold was trading at $1,288 at 4.36pm (GMT) down over $20 from yesterday’s close.

The catalyst for the fall was the release of the durable goods numbers from the |US which hit the market at 4.8 percent which was well above expectations for a figure of 1.5 percent and shows the US economy is powering ahead.

The news has the market now pricing in a 100 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates in at their next board meeting in September.

"It's been a pretty dreadful time for gold, everything that's good for growth has been negative for gold ," said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale in London.

Mr Bhar also noted that things are not all bad, and as we get closer to next month’s rate decision there may be opportunity to take a long position in gold.

"I suspect that maybe 70 percent of the rate rise is priced into the market, and when it comes through, you may have 'sell the rumor and buy the fact'," he said.