(RTTNews) - The price of gold was moving higher Thursday morning as the U.S. dollar was trading lower versus a basket of currencies ahead of weekly jobless claims data.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $13.60 to $1,584.40 an ounce. Yesterday, gold extended losses for a third session as investors mulled over the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the Congress with no indication of any further monetary stimulus forthcoming in the near future.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,266.11 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 2-year high versus the euro and ticking lower against sterling. The buck slipped back near a monthly-low versus the yen and moving down against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the euro zone current account surplus increased in May following a sharp decline in April, a report from the European Central Bank showed. The seasonally adjusted current account surplus rose to EUR 10.9 billion in May from EUR 5.5 billion in April.
Meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed U.K. retail sales increased at a slower than expected pace in June. Including automotive fuel, retail sales grew only 0.1 percent month-on-month, slower than the 1.5 percent rise in May and 0.6 percent growth forecast by economists.
The prices of silver and platinum were trading higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department will come out with its jobless claims report for the week ended July 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect claims to edge up to 365,000 from 350,000 in the previous week.
Later during the session, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales for June. Economists estimate existing home sales of 4.65 million for the month after sales fell by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million in the previous month.
