(RTTNews) - The price of gold was ticking lower Wednesday morning amid lingering worries over the euro zone debt situation and firm U.S. dollar.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, eased $1.40 to $1,549.60 an ounce. Yesterday, gold ended lower as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies, while Europe continued to be in focus. The dollar surged to its highest since July 2010 after a news report indicated a downgrade of Spain's credit rating,
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,270.26 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was extending its two-year high versus the euro and hovering around its two-month high against sterling. The buck advanced to a 16-month high against the Swiss franc, while slipping back to a 2-week low versus the yen.
In economic news, euro zone economic confidence declined more than expected to 90.6 in May from revised 92.9 in April, survey results from European Commission showed. Economists were forecasting the index to drop to 91.9. The industrial confidence deteriorated to -11.3 in May from -9 in April. Economists had forecast a fall to -10.2.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the National Association of Realtors will release its pending home sales data, which is a leading indicator of housing market activity, at 10 a.m ET. The index is expected to have risen 0.5 percent in April following a 4.1 percent jump in the previous month.
