Gold prices push higher following disappointing U.S. retail sales numbers

(Kitco News) - The gold market is seeing further gains Friday as U.S. consumers decided to hold on to their cash last month.

U.S. retail sales were unchanged last month, following March’s revised increase of 10.7% according to the latest data from the U.S. Commerce Department, released Friday; the data significantly missed expectations as economists were forecasting an increase of 1.0%.

Annually, the report said that headline retail sales numbers are up 51.2%; however, last year most Americas were confined to their homes due to government imposed lockdowns.

Meanwhile, core retail sales, which strips out auto sales, dropped 0.8% last month, following March’s rise of 8.4%. Core sales also missed expectations, with consensus forecasts calling for a 0.5% rise.