(Kitco News) - The gold market is holding above session lows after the latest economic data showed sales of durable goods came in above expectations in January.
The Commerce Department announced Thursday that U.S. durable goods orders rose 3.1% last month, following December’s revised decrease of -1.8%. The data was far better than expected as the consensus view of economists called for a 1.3% increase.
Core durable goods, which strip out the volatile transportation sector, came in at 0.0% in October, below the consensus forecast for a 0.4% increase, and also below December’s core print of 0.3%.
Meanwhile, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft manufacturing rose 0.8% in January, well above the expectation for a 0.4% increase and December’s 0.2% print.
The spot gold price fell to a session low of $2,877.17 per ounce shortly after 4 am EST and continues to trade not far from that level. Spot gold last traded at $2,886.33 per ounce for a loss of 1.33% on the session.
