Although the April reading still signified expansion, an expansion that has lasted 21 months, the Institute for Supply Management' manufacturing index still fell to 60.4% from March's 61.2%. Expectations were for a bigger drop, so the ISM reading beat. The prices-paid component shot up, showing rising inflation.
At the same time, construction spending for March showed a bigger than expected increase. Instead of going up the expected 0.8%, outlays went up 1.4%. Spending on private housing projects was up 2.2%. This increase is likely to prompt an upwards revision to first quarter GDP, origianlly estimated at 1.8%.
Despite the good news, gold climbed after the news was released. Already hoofing up to $1,558 at the time the news was disseminated, 10 AM ET, gold continued to climb. It broke through the top of the $1,550-$1,560 range at 10:30; $1,570 was reached a little after 11:00. That run had more to do with the slumping greenback and a shrug-off of last night's tumble than the above news items. As of 11:25, gold was boating a decent gain after starting off regular trading with a double-digit loss.
No comments:
Post a Comment