Sales of existing homes in the United States fell 0.8% in June, but gold is still struggling to catch a break

The National Association of Realtors announced on Thursday that its index of pending sales of existing homes fell 0.8 per cent in June, missing consensus expectations that economists had expected the index to rise 0.2 per cent.

The report says pending home sales fell 2.8% compared to the same period last year.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said: "The data shows that despite the increase in inventory in the market,dooprimeBut signings continued to decline slightly. The number of homes for sale in the Northeast rose slightly, even though the region had the highest home price growth in the nation. "

Yun added that optimism in the housing sector that the market has bottomed out is growing.

"Realtors are optimistic about the increase in home buying and selling activity. The fact that mortgage applications have been rising supports that confidence," he said.

The disappointing housing data did not have much impact on the gold market, as better-than-expected labor market data and solid economic growth in the second quarter weighed on the precious metal.

Gold managed to hold on to key support around $3,300 an ounce. Spot gold was last reported at $3,305.60 an ounce, down 0.58% on the day.

(Daily chart of spot gold, source: Internet)

Economists closely monitor pending home sales data because the report is a leading indicator of existing home sales - homes are typically signed months ahead of actual sales.

The US housing market has been trying to stabilise after significant weakness over the past two years, with many would-be buyers squeezed out of the market by rising home prices and rising mortgage rates.