Gold edges lower as the dollar pares losses

BY

Gold futures edged lower Thursday morning, with the U.S. dollar paring losses in the wake of mixed durable-goods data and a fall in new-home sales.


Gold for December delivery was down 30 cents at $632.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have already fallen $2.20 over the past two sessions.

New orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell 2.4% in July on a big decline in orders for transportation goods, the Commerce Department said Thursday. But excluding the 9.6% drop in transportation goods, durable-goods orders rose 0.5%, the 10th increase in the past 12 months

Sales of new homes dropped 4.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Inventories of unsold homes rose to an 11-year high, while median prices flattened out.

Against this backdrop, the dollar was last trading down 0.1% against the yen and 0.2% against the euro, offering little direction for gold.