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Gold price near daily highs as demand for new homes cools in the U.S.

Kitco Media
By Anna Golubova
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Updated
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(Kitco News) Gold was trading near its daily highs as the U.S. new home sales surprised on the downside in February, rising less than expected. The prior month’s advance was also revised lower.

New home sales rose 1.1% last month and were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 640,000 homes, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday. January’s sales were revised down to a rate of 633,000 units. The market consensus called for sales to rise to 650,000 units in February.

On an annual basis, new home sales were down 19% from last year’s February estimate of 790,000 units.

Looking at home prices, the median sales price for homes sold last month was $438,200, and the average price was $498,700. As of the end of January, the inventory of houses for sale was at 436,000, representing an 8.2-month supply at the current sales rate.

Gold was largely unchanged and trading near daily highs following the release of the data, with April Comex gold futures last at $1,983.70 an ounce, up 1.75% on the day.

The gold market was also digesting Federal Reserve’s latest quarter-point rate hike and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s more dovish press conference. Earlier in the session, gold hit a daily high of $1,987.80 an ounce.

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]

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Anna Golubova

Anna Golubova is the Producer for Kitco News. With more than ten years of experience in media, she has covered a range of topics, focusing on economy and politics. Anna began to exclusively cover economic news in 2013, attending media lockups at the Bank of Canada and Statistics Canada to report on a range of key macro economic events, including interest rate announcements, GDP, unemployment, and retail. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from NPSIA, Carleton and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and History from the University of Ottawa.

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