Gold Prices Edge Down After U.S. Housing Data
(Kitco News) - Gold prices ticked down, but largely ignored the U.S. housing data from December, which revealed a sharp drop in housing starts.
The U.S. housing starts fell 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.192 million units in December, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Consensus forecasts compiled by most news organizations called for starts to be around 1.275 million.
November's data was upwardly revised to 1.299 million units. For the year, housing starts fell 6%from December 2016.
On the other hand, building permits data, which is a precursor to future projects, did slightly better than expected. The report noted that building permits edged down 0.1% to 1.302 million in December, from November’s 1.303 million. On an annual basis, permits were up 2.8% compared to last year.
Gold prices remained lower following the release of the data, as profit-taking continued after gold hit a four-month high on Tuesday.
February Comex gold was last seen at $1,328.30, down 0.81% on the day, following a sudden drop in the in the previous trading session.
December’s housing starts data ended the year on a “quiet note,” said Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.
“December was a messy month in terms of weather in parts of the country, which may have delayed some building. Disruptions due to weather were a theme in for much of 2017, and with permits looking healthier in December, the new year could bring with it a pickup in residential investment,” Mendes added.
By Anna GolubovaFor Kitco News
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