Gold price sheds morning gains despite U.S. manufacturing PMI dropping to multi-month lowsGold reversed its early-morning gains after the release of preliminary manufacturing and service-sector sentiment data.
The flash U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for January dropped to 55.0, marking a 15-month low, research firm IHS Markit said in its latest report. The January number missed the market’s expectations of a reading of 56.7.
“The health of the manufacturing sector improved to the least marked extent since October 2020 in January,” the IHS Markit’s news release stated. “Again, the headline figure was supported by a greater deterioration in vendor performance which would ordinarily be a signal of improving operating conditions. That said, supply chain issues abounded, which further hampered production and weighed on client demand.”
The service sector’s PMI reading fell to 50.9 in January, the lowest level in 18 months. “Labor shortages, employee absences and the Omicron wave reportedly weighed on growth,” the report said.
Any monthly reading above 50 points to an expanding sector, while anything below that shows contraction in activity........
https://www.kitco.com/news/2022-01-24/Gold-price-ticks-down-as-U-S-manufacturing-PMI-drops-to-multi-month-lows.html
