Gold price ticks down and trades below $1,990 on mixed U.S. housing data

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(Kitco News) Gold edged down following the release of the U.S. April housing data, which showed mixed activity in housing starts and building permits.

U.S. housing starts rose 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.401 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Consensus forecasts were calling for starts to come in at 1.4 million. March’s data was revised down to 1.371 million units. For the year, housing starts were down 22.3%.

At the same time, building permits, which are a precursor to future projects, were down 1.5% at 1.416 million units in April after March’s upwardly revised total of 1.437 million. Consensus calls were expecting 1.437 million units last month. For the year, building permits dropped 21.1% from the April 2022 levels.

Gold ticked down close to daily lows following the data release, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $1,986.60, down 0.32% on the day.