Gold prices continue to hold on to recent gains and remain near a two-week high following mixed U.S. housing market data.
Wednesday, U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that housing starts in September fell to an adjusted annual rate of 1,047,000, down 9% from August’s rate of 1,150,000. The report noted that housing starts are also down almost 12% compared to last year.
According to reports, this is the slowest pace for housing construction in more than a year.
However, there are signs that housing construction could increase in the coming months as the report said that building permits rose to an adjusted annual rate of 1,225,000, up 6.3% from August’s revised level of 1,152,000.
Gold prices were just off session highs ahead of the report and prices are holding steady; December gold futures last traded at $1,271.10 an ounce, up 0.65% on the day.
Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said that although the construction data was disappointing, the fact that permits last month were stronger than expected should help to mute market reaction.
