I am of the opinion that Americans bought more goods than expected in August in anticipation that supplies are being squeezed by various factors and that they will not be readily available in the near future. I imagine that sales figures will be radically different as we head into autumn and winter.

The real-time graph displayed on Jim Sinclair's MineSet shows Gold has fallen by $39.10 to $1755.00, which is larger decline than what is described in the Kitco report.

(I know that it's all smoke-and-mirrors).
-NW

Gold prices near session lows following 0.7% rise in U.S. retail sales
Neils Christensen
September 16, 2021

[snip]

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are trading at near session lows as U.S. consumers spent more money in August than expected, easing concerns that the economic recovery is losing momentum.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.7% last month, up sharply from July's revised decline of 1.8%, according to the latest data from the U.S. Commerce Department, released Thursday. The data significantly beat expectations as economists were forecasting a 0.7% decline.

The report said that annually, headline retail sales numbers are up more than 15%

The gold market was seeing some significant selling pressure ahead of the retail sales numbers and as added to its losses. December gold futures last traded at $1,766.70 an ounce, down 1.57% on the day.

Meanwhile, core retail sales, which strips out auto sales, surged higher by 1.8% last month, up from July's 0.4% decline. Economists were expecting to see a 0.1% drop.

The control group, which excludes autos, gas, building materials, and food services and feeds directly into GDP calculations, increased 2.5%. Economists were expecting to see a 0.1% decline.