(Kitco News) - The gold market is holding modest gains but remains below $1,650 an ounce even the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to lose more momentum, according to the latest report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve.
Thursday, regional central bank said its manufacturing business outlook rose to -8.7 in October, up only slightly from September’s contraction of 9.9. However, the data missed expectations as consensus forecasts called for a negative reading around 5.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the disappointing economic data. December gold futures last traded at $1,640 an ounce, up 0.35% on the day.
Looking at the components of the report, the New Orders Index rose to -15.9, up from August’s reading of 17.6; at the same time, the Shipments Index was relatively unchanged at 8.6.
The labor market remains a bright spot in the manufacturing sector with the Number of Employees Index rising to 28.5, up from the previous reading at 12.
The report also noted that inflation remains a persistent issue. The Prices Paid Index rose to 36.3, up sharply from September’s reading of 29.8.
“The Prices Paid Index — which had fallen 55 points between April and September of this year — rose 7 points,” the report said.
