(Kitco News) - The gold market is trading near session lows after the latest economic data showed sales of durable goods came in well above expectations in May.
The Commerce Department announced Thursday that U.S. durable goods orders rose 16.4% last month, following April’s revised decrease of -6.6%. The data was far better than expected, as the consensus view of economists called for an 8.5% increase.
Core durable goods, which strip out the volatile transportation sector, came in at 0.5% in May, above the consensus forecast for a flat 0.0% reading, and also above April’s core print of 0.2%.
Meanwhile, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft manufacturing rose 1.7% in May, higher than the expectation for a 0.1% increase and above April’s -1.3% print.
Spot gold fell following the 8:30 am EDT release, and last traded at $3,331.86 per ounce for a loss of 0.01% on the session.
