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U.S. new home sales beat expectations in May, gold price steady

Anna Golubova

Kitco News

(Kitco News) Gold was trading steady as the U.S. new home sales came in better-than-expected in May with a rise of 10.7%. The prior month’s number was also revised up.

New home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 696,000 homes in May, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday. April’s sales were revised up to a rate of 629,000 units.

Market consensus called for sales to decline to 588,000 units in May.

On an annual basis, new home sales were down 5.9% from last year’s estimate of 740,000 units.

Looking at home prices, the report said that the median sales price for homes sold last month was $449,000, while the average price was $511,400.

As of the end of May, the inventory of houses for sale was at 444,000, representing a 7.7-month supply at the current sales rate.

Gold was largely unchanged following the release of the data, with August Comex gold futures last trading at $1,828.60, down 0.07% on the day.

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]

By Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

Contact agolubova@kitco.com
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