(RTTNews) - Gold was extending losses for a third session Thursday morning as hopes for further quantitative stimulus measures from the world's largest economy weakened following the recent batch of encouraging economic data from the U.S.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, slipped $4.40 to $1,658.60 an ounce. Yesterday, gold extended losses for a second session as traders await cues from a key central bankers' meeting at the weekend.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,289.52 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was lingering near its weekly low versus the euro and trading flat against sterling. The buck was little changed versus the Swiss franc and the yen
In economic news, euro zone economic sentiment weakened further in August due to strong loss in confidence among consumers, retailers and construction managers. The economic sentiment index dropped to 86.1 from 87.9 in July, European Commission said. The reading was below consensus forecast of 87.5.,
Meanwhile, Germany's unemployment increased by 9,000 in August from July, the Federal Labor Agency reported. The number of unemployed was forecast to rise by 7,000 after increasing 9,000 in July. At the same time, the jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.8 percent. The rate also matched economists' expectations. According to labor force survey, the adjusted jobless rate held steady at 5.5 percent in July,
The price of silver was ticking lower, while platinum was moving higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department is due to release its jobless claims report for the week ended August 25 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect claims to decline to 370,000 from 372,000 in the previous week.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department will release its personal income & outlays report for July. Economists expect the report to show that personal income rose 0.3 percent, while personal spending is expected to have increased by 0.5 percent.
