(Kitco News) - The selling pressure in gold has not abated even as the U.S. housing sector continues to weaken following disappointing home sales data.
Existing home sales declined 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate 4.04 million units last month, compared to July’s annualized rate of 4.07 million homes, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the disappointing economic data. December gold futures last traded at $1,939.50 an ounce, down 1.40% on the day."Home sales have been stable for several months, neither rising nor falling in any meaningful way," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Mortgage rate changes will have a big impact over the short run, while job gains will have a steady, positive impact over the long run.
"Home prices continue to march higher despite lower home sales," Yun said. "Supply needs to essentially double to moderate home price gains."