Two gauges of the U.S. economy were released at 10:00, and both highlight different sectors with different fortunes. The ISM survey of manufacturing yielded a number of 61.4% for February. It's at its highest level since May of 2004, and signals expansion because it's over 50%. The manufacturing sector has enjoyed 19 straight months of growth - not bad for a sector that was largely overlooked last decade.
With less hope comes an estimate of U.S. construction spending, which fell 0.7% on January. Of some consolation was it beating expectations for -1.6%.
Gold didn't react very well to the data, which amplified a pullback to $1,420. Just before the release, the metal had recovered from a deeper downturn to reach $1,425.
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