(RTTNews) - The price of gold moved down below $1,420 Thursday morning as the U.S. dollar steadied ahead of weekly jobs report.
Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, was down $10.80 to $1,418.80 an ounce. Yesterday, gold edged up amid escalating tensions in the Middle-East and renewed worries over the euro zone debt situation.
Earlier today, China reported a surprise trade deficit in February as surging commodities prices escalated its import bill.
Elsewhere, rating agency Moody's Investor Services has downgraded its credit rating on Spain by one notch to Aa2, citing worries over the cost of the banking sector's restructuring, the government's ability to achieve its borrowing reduction targets and grim economic growth prospects
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,217.30 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar continued to level off from its 4-month low versus the euro and ticking higher against sterling. The buck was trading firm versus the Swiss franc and the yen.
GDP data from Japan revealed that the domestic economy contracted at a downwardly revised 1.3 percent rate on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter. The quarter-over-quarter contraction was confirmed at 0.3 percent.
The euro came under pressure after Spain's credit rating was downgraded by Moody's. Meanwhile, the Bank of England maintains its benchmark interest rates at 0.50 percent and holds asset purchase plan at 200 billion pounds.
Elsewhere, the price of silver continued to hover near its 31-year high, while platinum was ticking lower in morning deals.
Among economic releases, the U.S. Labor Department will come out with its weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the claims to increase to 385,000 in the week ended March 5.
Also, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its trade balance report for January. Economists expect the deficit to widen to $41 billion.
