Gold and Silver Close Lower After Housing Data

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery fell $13.50 to settle at $1,574.90 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures dropped 48 cents to close at $27.04.

Both precious metals closed in the red as new housing data gave optimists something to grab onto. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home values in 20 cities dropped 1.9 percent in April, compared to the same month last year. It was the smallest decline since November 2010. It was also the third consecutive month that property values ticked higher.

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“Housing has picked up since the middle of last year,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York, who correctly forecast the monthly gain in prices. “Sales have improved and the inventory of homes for sale has been falling, which has brought a bit more balance into the market and fed into a bit of stabilization of prices.”

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) decreased 0.70 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) fell 1.45 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as AngloGold (NYSE:AU) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) both dropped nearly 1 percent. Silver miners (NYSEARCA:SIL) Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE:CDE) and Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK) declined 1.7 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS