(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to consolidate above $4,600 an ounce within a broader, volatile range, even as U.S. manufacturing shows mixed activity.
The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that U.S. durable goods orders fell 1.4% in February, following January’s revised decrease of 0.5%. The data was weaker than expected, as the consensus view of economists called for a decline of 1.1%.
However, core durable goods orders, which strip out the volatile transportation sector, rose 0.8% in February, compared to January’s increase of 0.4%. Core durable goods orders beat consensus estimates, as economists were expecting a 0.5% increase.
Meanwhile, core durable goods orders excluding defense spending and air transportation rose 0.6% in February; economists had expected a 0.4% increase. However, January’s data came in sharply lower, showing a 0.4% decline compared to the initially reported 0.1% increase.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest economic data, as price action continues to ebb and flow around interest rate expectations and volatile oil prices impacted by the ongoing war with Iran. Spot gold last traded at $4,663.80 an ounce, up 0.35% on the day.
Some analysts note that the mixed economic data is not expected to have much impact on U.S. monetary policy, which could keep gold prices range-bound in the near term. Analysts have said that gold prices need to break above resistance at $4,800 an ounce to signal new bullish momentum in the market.
