(Kitco News) - Gold prices continue to consolidate after last week’s breakout rally and are not seeing much reaction to weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment and elevated inflation expectations.
Friday, the University of Michigan said its preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 76.5, roughly unchanged from February’s reading at 76.9. However, the data missed consensus forecasts, as economists looked for a reading of around 77.1.
The gold market is trading in fairly neutral territory; April gold futures last traded at $2,166 an ounce, down 0.06% on the day.
“Consumer sentiment moved little this month with a 0.4 index point decrease that is well within the margin of error, and thus sentiment has been steady and essentially unchanged since January 2024,” Joanne Hsu, Surveys of Consumers Director UofM, “Sentiment remained almost 25% above November 2023 and is currently halfway between the historic low reached during the peak of inflation in June 2022 and pre-pandemic readings. Small improvements in personal finances were offset by modest declines in expectations for business conditions.”
While consumer sentiment has been roughly unchanged since the start of the year, inflation remains fairly elevated. According to the report, consumers see one-year inflation holding a 3%, which is still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
