Gold price climbs as New York’s manufacturing activity sees sharp drop in May

(Kitco News) The gold market moved higher as the New York manufacturing sector reported a steep drop in May, according to the latest data from the New York Federal Reserve.

The regional central bank said its Empire State manufacturing survey’s general business conditions index tumbled 43 points to -31.8 in May. The data missed consensus forecasts, which called for a reading of -3.7.

The May data followed April’s recovery, with the index coming in at 10.8 last month.

“Manufacturing activity declined significantly in New York State, according to the May survey. After jumping into positive territory last month, the general business conditions index plunged forty-three points to -31.8,” the report said.

The components of the report showed that the new orders index plunged 53 points to -28, the shipments index fell 40 points to -16.4, and the number of employees index remained in negative territory for the fourth consecutive month, coming in at -3.3.

On the inflation front, the prices paid index was little changed at 34.9, and the prices received index was steady at 23.6, which suggests that the pace of price increases was largely unchanged in May.

The gold market posted gains following the report, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $2,022.80 an ounce, up 0.15% on the day. Prior to the data release, gold was near daily lows of $2,011.20. Markets are also paying close attention to Tuesday’s retail sales report.