(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to see robust selling pressure, and even disappointing U.S. home sale data is not enough to shake up this downtrend.
New home sales dropped 4.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 634,000 homes, below March’s downwardly revised rate of 665,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.
The data was significantly weaker than expected, as consensus forecasts looked for an increase to a sales rate of 677,000 homes.
New home sales are down 7.7% compared to April 2023 levels.
The gold market is struggling to find any bullish traction as it falls closer to a critical initial support level. June gold futures last traded at $2,357.70 an ounce, down nearly 1.5% on the day.
Some analysts note that disappointing housing market data is not impacting the gold market, because the downtrend has been well-established. The U.S. housing market has struggled for more than a year as the Federal Reserve has maintained an aggressive monetary policy, driving mortgages higher.
At the same time, low home inventories have also driven costs higher, pricing many new potential home buyers out of the market. The report said the median sales price of new houses sold in April 2024 was $433,500; the average sales price was $505,700.
Looking at sales inventories, the report said that the number of new homes for sale as of the end of April was 480,000, representing a 9.1-month supply.
