(RTTNews) - The price of gold was extending losses for a fourth straight session Thursday morning as the U.S. dollar was trading firm after the FOMC yesterday failed to announce the much awaited monetary stimulus measures to support the sagging economy.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost $16.80 to $1,599.00 an ounce. Yesterday, gold extended losses for a third session after the Federal Reserve left its interest rate unchanged and extended Operation Twist bond swapping program citing a slowdown in jobs growth.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,281.62 tons.
This morning, the U.S. was steady versus the euro and sterling after the Federal reserve left its key rates unchanged yesterday. The buck advanced to an one-month high against the yen and trading flat versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news, euro zone suffered another steep fall in private sector activity in June, which was the steepest in three years, as the fallout from the debt crisis engulfing the single-currency bloc continued to hit production and new orders. The Composite Output Index, which measures the performance of both manufacturing and service sectors, remained unchanged at 46, the lowest reading since June 2009, a survey by Markit Economics revealed. Economists had expected a decline to 45.5.
Meanwhile, U.K. retail sales recovered at a faster than expected pace in May after easing in April, the Office for National Statistics said. Retail sales volume, including automotive fuel, rose 1.4 percent from the prior month, when it was down 2.4 percent. The increase was bigger than the expected growth of 1.2 percent
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department will release its jobless claims report for the week ended June 16 at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to edge down to 383,000 in the recent reporting week from 386,000 in the previous week.
Later during the session, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on U.S. existing home sales for May. Economists estimate existing home sales of 4.57 million for the month after sales rose 3.4 percent to 4.62 million units in April.
