(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to trade near session highs this morning after the U.S. manufacturing sector saw much stronger than expected activity last month.
On Friday, the Commerce Department said that U.S. durable goods orders rose by 5.4% in November, following October’s revised -5.1% decrease. The data was far stronger than expected as economists were looking for an increase of 2.2%.
This marks the most substantial monthly increase in durable goods orders this year, and much of the strength was concentrated in the transportation sector.
Core durable goods, which exclude the volatile transportation sector, increased by 0.5%, following October’s revised decrease of -0.3%. The core numbers were also stronger than expected, as economists were looking to see a 0.1% increase.
The gold market continued to trade at elevated levels following the data, which was released at the same time as the November PCE report, and is still trading near session highs. Spot gold last traded at $2,061.12 an ounce, up 0.74% on the day after hitting a session high of $2,065.65 shortly after 7:30 am EST.
