The price of gold was ticking lower Friday morning amid a mixed US dollar as traders await fresh triggers.
Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, slipped $5.60 to $1,386.20 an ounce. Yesterday, gold rose nearly 2 percent tracking declining global equity markets with the dollar turning weak against some major currencies after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday indicated the central bank would likely cut down its quantitative easing program in the near future. Investors largely ignored a slew of positive macroeconomic data out of the U.S., even as China's manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in seven months in May. The drop comes amid poor demand, fueling concerns of weakness in the economy that may persist for some more time.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 1,018.57 tons from 1,020.07 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar continued to level off from its 6-week high versus the euro, while trading flat against sterling. The buck was steady near its 4-year high versus the yen, while hovering around its 10-month high against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's consumer confidence is set to strengthen in June, results of a survey by market research firm GfK showed. The forward-looking index for June rose to 6.5 in June from 6.2 in May. Economists had forecast the indicator to remain unchanged at 6.2. Economic expectations as well as income expectations of consumers improved in May. Following a moderate fall in April, economic expectations gained 1.3 points to -0.2.
Meanwhile, Germany's business sentiment improved to 105.7 in May from 104.4 in April, reports said citing a survey from the Ifo institute. The reading was forecast to remain unchanged at 104.4.
Elsewhere, the price of silver was moving lower, while platinum edges up in morning deals.
Traders will look to the US durable goods order, due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect the orders to edge up to 1.5 percent in April after it fell 6.90 percent in the previous month.
