The reason why retail figures were able to cause such mayhem was...

The reason why retail figures were able to cause such mayhem was because the market is looking for signs that the economy is transitioning from a defensive bull market, in which money is generated in banks, industrials and health into a bull market where that money flows onto other sectors like retail. Money is not flowing on and this weakened the dollar making gold more attractive. It may not always seem it but everything is connected. Now interest rate jitters are propping up gold too and this is again counter intuitive because it strengthens the dollar. However, on the scales the strengthening is offset by the fallout from the bond and asset market, creating a need for safety that is independent of rate rises. This occurred despite good manufacturing data on Friday night, which had little sway on fx. Perhaps this is because they are behind more than ever in the trade deficit and strengthening the dollar defeats the purpose. Perhaps non believers are creeping into main stream markets.