Gold near session highs after U.S. durable goods post -1.4% loss in December
The gold market is trading near session highs and approaching $5,000 per ounce after the latest economic data showed sales of durable goods for December fell less than expected.
The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that U.S. durable goods orders fell -1.4% in December, following November’s unrevised increase of 5.3%. The data was better than expected, as the consensus view of economists called for a decrease of -2.0%.
Core durable goods, which strip out the volatile transportation sector, rose 0.9% in December, above the consensus forecast for a 0.3% reading and November’s revised core print of 0.4%.
Meanwhile, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft manufacturing rose 0.6% in December, better than the expectation for a 0.4% increase and November’s revised 0.6% print.
Spot gold continued to trade near session highs following the 8:30 am EDT release, and last traded at $4,959.21 per ounce for a gain of 1.67% on the session.
