Gold is off $8.40 in late afternoon trading while silver is down 18¢ or 0.90% per ounce. This is in spite of assistance from a weaker U.S. dollar, which drives prices up.

A 0.6% rise in U.S. retail sales for June, blew the 0.1% rise predicted by economists out of the water. It’s yet another reminder why economics is called “the dismal science.” The rise was the third straight monthly increase.

Gold is off around $8.00 today, but the heart of the story is that the price point reflects a nearly $3.50 positive assist from a weaker U.S. dollar. Otherwise gold would have been off $11.00 in total.