Gold Slightly Softer After U.S. April Durable-Goods Orders Fall 1.7%
(Kitco News) -Gold prices eased marginally after a Commerce Department reportThursday showed that U.S. orders for durable goods fell by 1.7% during April. Comex June gold was last down $1.50 to $1,302.90 an ounce.
Consensus expectations compiled by various news organizationscalled for durables to be around 1% to 1.2% lower. The decline came on theheels of two straight monthly increases.
Excludingtransportation, new orders increased 0.9%. Excluding defense, new orders fell1.9%. Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthlyincreases, drove the decrease, falling by 6.1%, the government said.
The durables report covers items with an expected life of at leastthree years, such as kitchen appliances, computers, furniture, autos andairplanes.
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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