Gold and silver traded higher Friday morning following a report that showed a dramatic decrease in the price of U.S. imports – the first monthly drop since last December and the latest sign this week that inflation may finally be on the retreat.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that prices for U.S. imports decreased 0.4% in May, following a 0.9% increase the previous month and an overall 1.5% increase in the first quarter. The federal agency cited lower fuel and non-fuel import prices as contributing to the overall monthly decline. The figure beat Wall Street projections of no change in import prices.
Gold was up more than $32 in early morning activity to trade at $2,338 per ounce, while silver rose $0.24 to trade at $29.29 per ounce.
May’s decrease in import prices represented the first monthly drop since the index fell 0.7% in December 2023, the bureau said in its accompanying report.
U.S. export prices also declined in May, according to Friday’s data, falling by 0.6% after posting a 0.6% increase the previous month.
For close watchers of the economy, Friday’s data was the third piece of key evidence issued by the government this week that pointed to easing inflation and renewed confidence among traders that federal policymakers may cut interest rates as soon as September.
On Thursday, the Producer Price Index (PPI) issued by the BLS found that final demand prices declined 0.2% in May, down from an increase of 0.5% in April and beating Wall Street projections of a 0.1% increase in monthly wholesale inflation.
And Wednesday, hours before the Fed unanimously decided to leave interest rates unchanged, the BLS released the Consumer Price Index, which declined to a 3.3% annual rate in May from a year earlier, down from 3.4% in April.