After dipping to a two-week trading low a day earlier, gold broke out in a big way Thursday morning after a report showing an increase in U.S. durable goods orders that beat Wall Street expectations.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased $0.3 billion – or 0.1% – to $283.1 billion, after April’s downwardly revised 0.2% rise. Investors had expected a -0.1% decrease for May.
It’s the fourth consecutive month where durable goods orders have increased – one key sign of a recovering economy.
Core durable goods – which strips out transportation – decreased 0.1% last month, down from April’s 0.4% figure, according to the data.
Gold was trading at session highs Thursday morning, up $28.75 at $2,327 per ounce, after languishing for most of the week. Silver also made a leap, up $0.38 at $29.09.
Meanwhile Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the week ending June 22 was 233,000 – a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 239,000. The figure also beat Wall Street estimates of around 235,000 claims.
The four-week moving average was 236,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 233,000, the agency reported.