(RTTNews) - The price of gold was flat near its monthly high Wednesday morning amid a weak U.S. dollar.
Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged down $1.00 to $1,654.60 an ounce. Yesterday, gold advanced 1.5 percent on a weak dollar following some encouraging economic data from Asia and Europe.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged up to 1,255.67 tons from 1,254.16 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar continued to level off from its multi-year high versus the euro and ticking lower against sterling. The buck was ticking lower versus the Swiss franc and flat against the yen.
In economic news from the euro zone, the U.K. unemployment rate hits its highest level since 1995 even as people claiming unemployment benefits increased by less than expected in December. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the jobless rate was 8.4 percent of the economically active population during the three months ended November.
Elsewhere, the price of silver was ticking higher, while platinum moving lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department is scheduled to release its report on the producer price index for December at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect the headline index to remain unchanged, but the core producer price index is expected to have risen by 0.1 percent.
Later during the session, the National Association of Homebuilders will release the results of its January survey on homebuilders' confidence. The consensus estimates call for the index to remain unchanged at 21.
