RTN:Gold Little Changed Amid Weak Dollar, Greece Anxiety
(RTTNews) - The price of gold was flat Friday morning as traders await cues from the ongoing developments in Greece.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged down $1.90 to $1,528.00 an ounce. Yesterday, gold ended steady amid speculation Greece is likely to default and may spark a wider European debt crisis.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,200.05 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 3-week high versus the euro and sterling, while trading flat against the Swiss franc and the yen.
The euro area trade balance showed a shortfall of EUR 4.1 billion in April compared to a surplus of EUR 1.6 billion in March, data from Eurostat revealed. Economists had forecast a shortfall of EUR 1.9 billion for April.
Meanwhile, construction output in the Euro area decreased at a slower pace in April, data released by statistical office Eurostat showed. Construction production decreased 2 percent year-on-year in April, slower than the 4.9 percent fall seen in March.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were ticking lower in morning deals.
In economic news, the preliminary report of the Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for June is scheduled to be released at 9.55 a.m. ET. Economists expect the index to edge up to 74.5 from April's 74.3.
Later during the session, the Conference Board will release its U.S. leading economic indicators index for May. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.2 percent month-over-month increase in the index following a 0.3 percent drop in April.
