Gold Edges Up as Dollar Weakens After U.S. Housing Starts Rise to Five-Month High

09:20 AM EDT, 08/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gold edged higher early on Tuesday, sticking to a tight range even as the dollar moved down after U.S. housing starts rose to a five-month high in July, topping expectations, while safe-haven buying eases on hopes for an potential ceasefire in Russia's war on Ukraine.

Gold for December delivery was last seen up US$4.60 to US$3,382.60 per ounce, remaining within the tight range it has mostly stuck to since April.

A Monday White House meeting between U.S President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders ended with hopes for trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. The Guardian reported that European leaders are meeting to discuss what security guarantees they can offer to ensure Russia complies with the terms of any ceasefire agreement.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported housing starts in July rose to 1.43 million, up from from 1.29 million a month earlier and ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of 1.39-million starts. The result may boost U.S. GDP in the third quarter, as Bloomberg reported the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's GDPNow forecast for the period expected little contribution from the housing sector.

The data comes amid flagging expectations for a September rate cut from the Federal Reserve as inflation continues to run above the central bank's 2% target. The CME FedWatch tool now sees an 83.1% probability for a 25 basis point cut to rates at the Sept.17 end to the meeting of the Fed's policy committee, down from 93.9% a week earlier.

The dollar was lower following the data, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.1 points to 98.07. Treasury yields also eased, with the two-year note last seen paying 3.759%, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 2.2 points to 4.319%

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