Gold was trading steady as the U.S. new home sales came in better-than-expected in May with a rise of 10.7%. The prior month’s number was also revised up. New home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 696,000 homes in May, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday. April’s sales were revised up to a rate of 629,000 units. Market consensus called for sales to decline to 588,000 units in May. On an annual basis, new home sales were down 5.9% from last year’s estimate of 740,000 units. Looking at home prices, the report said that the median sales price for homes sold last month was $449,000, while ... (full story)