(Kitco News) - The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to cool, although the slowdown is occurring more gradually than expected, providing little safe-haven support for gold prices.
The Commerce Department announced Friday that U.S. durable goods orders fell 9.3% in June, following May’s revised decrease of 16.5%. Despite the drop, the data came in better than expected, as economists had forecast a decline of 10.4%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude the volatile transportation sector, increased by 0.2% in June, compared to May’s 0.5% rise. The core figure also beat expectations, exceeding the consensus forecast for a 0.1% gain.
Meanwhile, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft—a closely watched proxy for business investment—dropped 0.7%, coming in weaker than expected. Economists had anticipated a 0.2% increase.
The gold market is showing little reaction to the relatively subdued economic data. The precious metal continues to face solid selling pressure as investors take profits following a surge above $3,400 an ounce earlier in the week. Spot gold last traded at $3,338.30 an ounce, down 0.85% on the day.
