News Bites
Gold Pares Gain After ISM Manufacturing Index Rises To 58.8% In August
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Editor's Note: Updating earlier story to include more details from report.
(Kitco News) - Gold trimmed its gains Friday after the Institute for Supply Management said that its headline manufacturing index rose by 2.5 percentage points to 58.8% in August.
The reading came in above consensus estimates compiled by news organizations, which called for the index to be somewhere around 56.5% to 56.8%. The July reading was 56.3%.
As of 10:09 a.m. EDT, Comex December gold was trading up $1.80 for the day to $1,324 an ounce. Two minutes ahead of the report, the metal was at $1,325.50 and the contract earlier peaked at $1,334.50.
Readings above 50% in such diffusion indexes are seen as a sign of economic growth, and vice-versa. The farther an indicator is above or below 50%, the greater or smaller the rate of change.
The employment index climbed to 59.9% in August from 55.2% the prior month. There was no change in the prices index, which remained at 62.0%.
The index for new orders came in at 60.3%, a tick below 60.4% in July. The production index climbed slightly to 61.0% from 60.6%.
