(Kitco News) - The gold market is off its lows but remains under pressure as the U.S. housing market continues to stabilize, with existing-home sales falling to their lowest level since February.
Total existing-home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million in August, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Thursday.
However, the decline was in line with economists’ expectations.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that rising interest rates, which are driving mortgage rates higher, continue to have a significant impact on the U.S. housing sector.
“Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it's not surprising to see a mild dip in home buying activity due to high mortgage rates,” he said in the report. “Still, home prices are rising, and existing home sales are actually up 1.6% year-to-date through the first eight months of the year. Homebuying demand, despite higher interest rates, is no doubt being supported by rising wages, which grew 3.1% in August, along with 643,000 net new jobs added since the start of the year. Job creation and wage growth typically drive housing demand.”
The gold market has been unable to attract a significant bid in reaction to the disappointing housing market data. Spot gold last traded at $4,365.50 an ounce, down 0.85% on the day.
