The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Nov. 24, edition that it was a bad day for Canadian gold stocks (like Barrick Gold and Iamgold) on Wednesday as bullion fell below the key psychological mark of $1,200 an ounce for the first time since February. The Post's Sunny Freeman writes that gold futures lost 1.8 per cent of their value to settle at $1,189.30 amid strong U.S. economic data that sent the greenback to a near 14-year high against a basket of currencies. Gold prices -- which have fallen about 6 per cent since the U.S. election on Nov. 8 -- have an inverse relationship to the U.S. dollar. A stronger greenback makes gold more expensive because the metal is priced in U.S. dollars. Encouraging U.S. data on Wednesday seemed to solidify the case for the Fed to raise interest rates next month. Traders have already priced in a 90-per-cent chance rates will rise. Investors have been getting out of gold as equities markets reach record highs. Gold is headed for its second monthly decline as observers expect U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to expedite fiscal spending. In Toronto, the materials group, which includes gold and base-metals miners lost 3 per cent of its value Wednesday.