(RTTNews) - The price of gold was ticking lower Wednesday morning as hopes for a concrete plan to resolve the euro crisis in the upcoming European Union summit faded. Speculation about a move towards common euro-zone bonds subsided after German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out such move.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract shed $6.90 to $1,568.00 an ounce. Yesterday, gold snapped its two-session winning streak to end lower as investors anxiously await the outcome of a key European Union summit meeting due later this week, which is largely expected to fall short of resolving the euro zone debt crisis. Some weak economic data from the U.S. also acted as a dampener on gold prices.
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 around its two-week high versus the euro and ticking higher against sterling. The buck was steady around its one-month high against the yen, while trading flat versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, import price inflation in Germany eased to 2.2 percent in May from 2.3 percent in April, the Federal Statistical Office said. The import price index, excluding crude oil and mineral oil products, was 1.4 percent above the level of a year earlier.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department will release its durable goods orders report at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect a 0.4 percent increase in durable goods orders for May. Excluding transportation, orders may have risen 0.8 percent.
Later during the session, the National Association of Realtors will come out with its data on Pending Home Sales. The index is expected to have risen 1.2 percent in May after declining 5.5 percent in April.
