Pending home sales declined for the 4th straight month
Gold prices attempted to move but were unable to gain traction. Prices were nearly unchanged for the week, declining by approximately 0.2%. Despite the lackluster price action implied volatility on gold increased by 2 percentage points or 10% to 21, from 19% at the close during the prior week. The dollar moved lower, helping to buoy gold prices, but US yields rose despite a softer than expected US pending home sales report.
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Gold prices were nearly unchanged, forming a weekly doji. Prices remain below resistance near the 10-day moving average at 1,849. Support is seen near the January lows at 1,802. Short-term momentum has turned positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. Medium-term negative momentum has decelerated as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram prints in the red with a flat trajectory, which points to consolidation.
Home purchase contracts declined in December. The pending home sales index from the National Association of Realtors fell 0.3% month-to-month, the fourth straight monthly decline. Pending sales were, 21.4% higher than December 2019, and this was the highest December reading on record. At the end of December, inventory stood at just 1.07 million homes for sale, down 23% year over year.
David Becker focuses his attention on various consulting and portfolio management activities at Fortuity LLC, where he currently provides oversight for a multimillion-dollar portfolio consisting of commodities, debt, equities, real estate, and more.