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US housing starts came in at 974,000 last month vs. 1.1 million estimated. Starts for the month prior were revised higher from 891,000 to 934,000 according to data published by the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday. Overall, starts rose 4.3% on a monthly basis last month after plunging 26.4% the month before, revised from a decline of 30.2%. Annually, housing starts are down 23%.

Industrial production in May rose 1.4% vs. 3% expected as the manufacturing industry struggles to get back on track amid ongoing lockdown procedures worldwide. The slight increase follows a record drop of -12.5%, revised lower from -11.2%. The drop in April was the worst since 1919.

Retail sales smashed through expectations in May with 17.7% gains vs. 8% expected and following a decline of 16.4%. Clothing and accessories saw massive gains of 188% as stores around the country began to open up again, while sporting foods, hobby products, musical instruments, and book stores saw increased sales of 88.2%.

Good morning, traders. Welcome back to Monday, and welcome back to our preview of the trading week ahead, focusing on the economic data, news flow, and market narratives that look likely to have to biggest impact on gold prices, as well as the US Dollar and other key correlated assets.

Happy Friday, traders! Welcome to our weekly market wrap, focusing on the market news, narratives, and economic data that had the most relevant impact on gold prices (and may continue to in the future,) as well as markets for the Dollar and other correlated assets.

The wholesale cost of U.S. goods and services rose in May for the first time in four months. Producer price inflation (PPI) is a leading indicator of consumer inflation, making it a closely watched metric even in normal circumstances. PPI rose 0.4% in May vs. 0.1% gain expected and after plunging a record 1.3% the month before. In the 12 months through May, PPI came in at 0.8% decline, up from 1.2% decline in April.

Jobless claims in the US ranged in the millions again last week, but continue to tick downward from the peak seen in mid-March. 1.542 million Americans filed for unemployment claims in the week ended June 6, slightly below expectations of 1.55 million.

The FOMC concluded their June meeting this afternoon, announcing no changes to the short-term interest rates that the Federal Reserve uses as its primary lever to impact financial conditions; however the Fed again committed to leaving its broad and deep set of tools and facilities to continue supporting the US economy through the Covid-19 crisis and into a (hoped for) strong recovery.

Consumer prices in the US fell for the third month in a row in May, dropping 0.1% after a major 0.8% drop in April according to the Labor Department. The April decline was the largest drop since December 2008. Annually, consumer price inflation (CPI) rose 0.1% in May and 0.3% in April. Economists had forecast no monthly change to consumer prices in May and 0.2% growth annually.

Hello traders, happy Monday and welcome to our weekly preview of the trading week with a focus on the economic data, news flow, and market narrative that looks most likely to have an impact on the price of gold as well as the US Dollar and other correlated assets.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome back to our weekly market wrap, focusing on the news flow, narratives, and economic data that had the biggest impact (and may continue) on gold prices, as well as the charts for the US Dollar and other correlated assets.

The May employment report came as a big surprise to market analysts with 2.5 million jobs added to US payrolls. Analysts had forecast losses of 7.5 million jobs and unemployment at 19%. The current rate of unemployment is 13.3% compared to 14.7% the month before according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 20.5 million jobs were lost in April, and the May labor market report may indicate that things are turning around in the US economy.