MW: Gold futures fall after gloomy data on housing, jobs
Gold futures traded lower Thursday after data showed a rise in jobless claims and a plunge in housing starts to a record low. Gold for February delivery fell $4.10 to $846 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Construction of new homes fell more than 15% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000, the lowest on record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Separately, first-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose 62,000 to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ending Jan. 17, the Labor Department said.
