Yahoo Finance Gold Prices Litttle Changed Despite Dollar Weakness
Investing.com - Gold prices were little changed on Friday, still hovering near recent two-week lows even as disappointing U.S. economic reports and fresh turmoil in Washington pushed the greenback lower.
Comex gold futures were little changed at $1,318.3 a troy ounce by 09:00 a.m. ET (13:00 GMT), just off a two-week trough of $1,313.7.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday that housing starts decreased 7.0% to 1.236 million units last month, compared to forecasts for an increase to 1.290 million units.
The report also showed that building permits fell 5.7% to 1.298 million units in February, disappointing expectations for a rise to 1.320 million units.
The greenback had already weakened after the Washington Post reported on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to replace his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster.
The move followed the President's unexpected decision on Tuesday to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Adding to concerns over U.S. politics, fears of potential trade wars were reignited after Donald Trump announced plans this week to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports, specifically targeting the technology and telecommunications sectors.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.10% at 90.05, off a one-week high of 90.17 hit overnight.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar usually makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures were steady at $16.43 a troy ounce.
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