Gold price ticks up on latest U.S. housing data

NEW YORK (Jan 19) Gold edged up following the release of the U.S. housing data from December, which showed weaker housing starts and building permits.

U.S. housing starts declined 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.382 million units in December, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Consensus forecasts were calling for starts to drop to 1.359 million. November’s data was revised down to 1.401 million units. For the year, housing starts were down 21.8%.

At the same time, building permits, a precursor to future projects, were down 1.6% at 1.330 million in December after November’s unrevised total of 1.351 million. For the year, building permits dropped 29.9% from the December 2021 levels. 

The housing data revealed mixed news in December, said CIBC World Markets economist Katherine Judge.

“The U.S. housing starts data provided an upside surprise in December, as the 1382K pace of building was above the consensus expectation. However, a downward revision to the prior month (now 1401K vs. 1427K previously) negated the upside surprise,” Judge noted Thursday.

Gold edged up slightly following the data release. February Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,913.60, up 0.35% on the day.

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