The price of gold was moving lower Tuesday morning amid a steady US dollar and on rising global equities.
Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $8.60 to $1,459.40 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled marginally higher as investors opted for the safe haven appeal of the precious metal, driven by growing tensions in the Middle East and increased physical demand. Tensions in the Middle East rose after Israeli missiles targeted Syrian military installations just outside Damascus, purported to have been carrying high-end surface-to-surface missiles from Iran for Hezbollah. Israel, however, has not claimed responsibilities for the attacks during last week end.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 1,062.30 tons from 1,065.61 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was paring its previous session's gains versus the euro, while lingering near a three-month low versus sterling. The buck was steady around its 4-year high versus the yen and advancing toward a two-week high against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's manufacturing orders increased from the previous month in March, defying economists' forecast for a modest decline, latest data showed. New orders received by German manufacturers increased a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent sequentially in March, as they did in the previous month, preliminary data from the the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said. Economists had forecast orders to fall by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, France's industrial production decreased at a faster rate than expected by economists in March, latest data showed. Industrial production decreased 2.5 percent on an annual basis in March, statistical office Insee said. The rate of fall was notably faster than 1.4 percent economists had forecast. In February, output had fallen by 2.9 percent.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Federal Reserve is due to release its report on outstanding consumer credit for March at 3 pm ET. Economists expect outstanding consumer credit to swell by $15 billion from an $18.l billion increase in February.
