Gold Prices Unchanged Following Mixed Durable Goods Data
(Kitco News)- Gold pricesremains relatively unchanged on the day, hovering near the bottom of theircurrent trading range following mixed U.S. manufacturing data.
Thursday,the U.S. Census Bureau said that new durable goods orders increased $6.4billion or 2.6 percent to $254.9 billion, in March, beating expectations.Consensus forecasts were calling for an increase of 1.6%.
However, core orders, which strips out the volatiletransportation sector was weaker than expected, unchanged from the previousmonth. Consensus forecasts were calling for a 0.5% increase in March.
Gold prices were hovering in modestly positive territoryahead of the data and have only dropped slightly lower in initial reaction,June gold futures last traded at $1,323.50 an ounce, up 0.05% on the day.
Andrew Grantham, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said that the mixed manufacturing data does not add much to the economic picture ahead of Friday's first quarter gross domestic product data.
"The 3-month annualized trend at 4.1% still suggests a positive contribution from investment to Q1 GDP, but the growth rate is well below the 12.5% in Q4," he said. "Overall some mixed figures for the final inputs to Q1 GDP, which may not change expectations too much ahead of tomorrow's release."
By Neils ChristensenFor Kitco News
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