Gold falls 1 pct as U.S. data erodes stimulus hopes

Gold dropped more than 1 percent on Monday, on track for its biggest daily drop since July, as encouraging U.S. retail sales data prompted investors to curb expectations for Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus that have boosted bullion prices.Heavy fund liquidation and technical selling also pressured gold as data showed U.S. retail sales rose in September after Friday's strong consumer sentiment data. Bullion could see more weakness as investors feared the Fed might curb its stimulus due to a brighter economic outlook.