Gold Stable Despite Strong US Data



Gold prices are relatively unchanged following strong than expected U.S. consumer optimism and new home sales.

Tuesday, the U.S. Conference Board said that its Consumer Sentiment index fell to a reading of 97.3 in July, following June’s reading of 98.0.

However, economists were expecting to see a a bigger decline in consumer confidence with consensus forecasts calling for a reading of 95.6.

 “Consumers were slightly more positive about current business and labor market conditions, suggesting the economy will continue to expand at a moderate pace. Expectations regarding business and labor market conditions, as well as personal income prospects, declined slightly as consumers remain cautiously optimistic about growth in the near-term,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.

August gold prices last traded at $1,320.80 an ounce, relative unchanged on the day and since the release of the report.

At the same time, U.S. Commerce Department said that sales of new single-family homes rose by 3.5% in June to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 592,000 homes, up from May’s revised sales rate of 572,000 units. According to consensus forecasts, economists were expecting to see a modest rise to 560,000 units.

via SOURCE

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza