GoldPrice

Good morning, traders; welcome back to our Monday look ahead at this week’s macro data that’s most useful to precious metals and currency traders.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome back to our recap of the week in gold markets. Seemed like we were all falling asleep for a little while to begin the week, but we’re certainly having fun (or something like it) now. Gold prices are roughly $12 for the week (but upwards of $20 for the day) on the back of a blockbuster Friday in world markets.

US new home sales missed expectations in July with a sharp 12.8% drop reported by the Commerce Department on Friday. 635,000 new homes were sold in July, down from June’s revised rate of 728,000 and below estimates of 647,000 units.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made some measured statements on the current state of the economy on Friday morning, with financial markets experiencing steep volatility beforehand. Powell reassured the public that the Fed is dedicated to extending the current period of economic expansion despite headwinds such as the US/China trade war.

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 last week, back near a 50-year low. Jobless claims came in at 209,000 for the week ended August 17, indicating continuous underlying strength in the labor market.

Policymakers who attended the July Federal Reserve meeting reportedly cited the trade war as a major, ongoing threat to economic progress, as well as the general slowdown seen worldwide. The rate cut introduced in late July was aimed as insurance against these recessionary pressures.

US home sales in July rose above expectations in July, with a strong labor market and the effects of lower mortgage rates boosting the struggling housing market.

Good morning, traders! Welcome to your weekly look ahead at what matters in the gold and currency markets. At time of writing thing morning, gold prices are lower to start the week but have managed to retake a position above $1500/oz following some deeper weakness starting in the European trading session overnight.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome back to your recap of the week behind us in the gold markets. At the time of writing, gold is maintaining its gains from Monday’s trading and cruising towards a sixth-consecutive winning week, with spot prices trading neat $1512/oz.

Gold prices saw a brief recovery before dipping further following the release of a consumer sentiment report from the University of Michigan. The report indicates that consumer sentiment hit a 7-month low in August amid growing concerns surrounding the trade conflict between the US and China.

The number of US homes which began construction fell again for the third month in a row in July, led by a sharp drop in the construction of multi-family homes like apartment complexes. At 1.191 million units, housing starts were well below projections of 1.257 million. However, permits, an indicator of future construction, saw a sharp increase.

Retail sales increased by 0.7 percent in July compared to a month prior, significantly better than what economists expected. Retail sales measures purchases at stores, restaurants and online. If you exclude auto sales and gas, retail sales were up 1.0 percent in July. In the May though July period consumer spending increased by a whopping 1.8 percent when compared to the three months prior. Positive retail sales sent gold down about $5 before recovering most of the losses in the ensuing hour.