(Kitco News) Gold fell following the release of the U.S. housing data from October, with housing starts and building permits dropping less than expected.
U.S. housing starts declined 4.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.425 million units in October, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Consensus forecasts were calling for starts to drop to 1.41 million. September’s data was revised up to 1.488 million units. For the year, housing starts were down 8.8%.
At the same time, building permits, which are a precursor to future projects, were down 2.4% at 1.526 million in October after September’s revised total of 1.564 million. For the year, building permits dropped 10.1% from the October 2021 levels.
Gold hit fresh daily lows following the data release. December Comex gold futures were last at $1,761.20, down 0.82% on the day.
The housing data was slightly above consensus expectations but still signifies a slowdown, said CIBC World Markets economist Katherine Judge.
“Single-family permit issuance declined by 3.6%, suggesting further weakness in building ahead in that segment of the market, which is also in line with plummeting homebuilder confidence and elevated mortgage rates,” Judge said.
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