(Kitco News) - The gold market is unable to attract any bullish momentum as prices continue to slide closer to $2,300 an ounce, even after data shows further weakness in the U.S. housing market as consumers appear reluctant to buy new homes.
New home sales dropped 11.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 619,000 homes, below April’s upwardly revised rate of 698,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.
The latest sales data significantly missed expectations as consensus forecasts looked for a rate of around 634,000 homes.
Annual sales, which strips out the monthly volatility, continue to highlight significant weakness in the housing market, with sales down 16.5% from May 2023.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest economic data. August gold futures last traded at $2,310 an ounce, down nearly 1% on the day.
Looking at home prices, the report said the median sales price of new houses sold last month was $417,400; meanwhile, the average sales price was $520,000.
At the same time, the supply of homes for sale is slowly starting to improve. The report said the number of homes for sale as of the end of the month was 481,000, representing a 9.3-month supply.
