SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold took a hard fall on Friday, at one point trading at levels not seen since 2010, as the dollar surged in the wake of a surprise stimulus move from the Bank of Japan.

Gold for December delivery GCZ24, slumped $27, or 2.3%, to settle at $1,171.60 an ounce, closing out the week 5.3% lower. The precious metal shed 3.7% in October and is down 3.3% for the year to date. December silver US:SIZ4 gave up 31 cents to $16.11 an ounce.

A more hawkish-than expected U.S. Federal Reserve statement has already been weighing on gold this week. The Fed’s ending of its bond-buying stimulus program on Wednesday smacked prices hard as gold shed 2.2% amid signs of a healing economy. The U.S. economy expanded 3.5% in the third quarter, data showed Thursday.

“The surprisingly robust US GDP figures yesterday confirmed the Fed’s more optimistic economic outlook of the day before and thus indirectly dampened demand for gold as a safe haven,” said analysts at Commerzbank, in a note.

Gold was further pummeled after the Bank of Japan shocked markets with a move to expand the pace of quantitative easing, triggering a 5% surge in the Nikkei 225 index NIK, +0.17% . The dollar USDJPY, +0.01% touched its highest level against the yen since January 2008.

The BOJ expanded the size of its Japanese Government Bond purchases to the equivalent of “about 80 trillion yen” ($727 billion) a year, a rise of ¥30 trillion on the previous amount. It also said it would buy longer-dated JGBs, and triple its purchase of exchange-traded funds and real-estate investment trusts.

Gold losses speeded up as a pageant of economic numbers rolled out, including one that showed a slowdown in consumer spending.

Commzerbank said gold has taken out its psychologically important $1,200 per troy ounce mark, but also its four-year low of around $1,180.

Jim Wyckoff, a Kitco analyst, is more pessimistic on gold than he has been in a while, and noted that prices of the yellow metal could be in trouble if they don’t hold the $1,183 level.

“If [gold] prices fall below that, you’ll probably see a stiff leg down in prices, and a challenge of $1,000 could not be ruled out,” he warned in a video interview.

Elsewhere in metals trading, January platinum US:PLF5 fell $10.70, or 0.9%, to $1,235.20 an ounce. December palladium US:PAZ4 rose $11.10 to $791.80 an ounce. High-grade copper for December delivery US:HGZ4 eased 2 cents to $3.05 a pound.

--Barbara Kollmeyer contributed to this article.