Gold prices near session highs as U.S. housing starts fall 9.8% in JanuaryGold prices are trading near session highs on Wednesday morning after the latest U.S. housing data showed a mixed picture last month.
Housing starts declined by 9.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.366 million units, the Commerce Department announced on Tuesday. The data came in worse than expected as economists looked for a smaller decrease of -9.0% to 1.400 million units. December saw 1.515 million units.
For the year, housing construction is down 0.7 percent below the January 2024 rate of 1,376,000.
The report said that building permits for future homebuilding rose 0.1% to a rate of 1.483 million last month, which was higher than the consensus expectation for 1.460 million permits. December’s print was 1.482 million units. For the year, building permit issuances were 1.7 percent below the January 2024 rate of 1,508,000.
The gold market is trading higher following the 8:30 am EST housing data release. Spot gold last traded at $2,940.58 per ounce, up 0.18% on the day and not far from the session high of $2,947.08.................
https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2025-02-19/gold-prices-near-session-highs-us-housing-starts-fall-98-january
