The price of gold was ticking higher Wednesday morning, with the US dollar trading mixed ahead of the private sector employment report from the ADP, due out later today. Bargain buying as well as short covering supported the yellow metal.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged up $1.80 to $1,245.20 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled lower as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies after some upbeat factory orders from the U.S. In some positive economic news, new orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose more than expected in May, due largely to a jump in orders for transportation equipment, a Commerce Department report showed.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down to 964.69 tons from 968.30 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was trading steady near its one-month high versus the euro, sterling and the Swiss franc. The buck was ticking lower versus the yen.
In economic news, euro zone's private sector contraction eased in June, amid slower declines in employment and new orders, final results of a survey by Markit Economics showed. The composite output index, that measures both manufacturing and service sector activities, rose to 48.7 in June from 4.7.7 in May. The score was a tad below the flash estimate of 48.9, meaning the contraction was steeper than estimated.
Meanwhile, retail sales in the euro area returned to growth in May after falling for three months in a row, and the rate of growth far exceeded economists' expectations, latest data showed. Retail sales increased 1 percent on a monthly basis in May, recovering from April's upwardly revised 0.2 percent decrease, statistical office Eurostat said. Economists had forecast sales to record a 0.3 percent growth following April's originally reported 0.5 percent contraction.
The Germany service sector returned to growth in June after shrinking in the previous two months, but the rate of growth was slower than initially estimated, final data released by Markit Economics and BME showed. The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index for the service sector rose to a three-month high of 50.4 in June from 49.7 in May, moving above the no-change 50 mark - which separates growth from contraction - for the second successive month. The revised score was, however, notably lower than 51.3 estimated earlier.
Elsewhere, the price of silver was moving higher and platinum ticked lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the ADP is scheduled to release the results of its private payrolls survey for June at 8:15 am ET. Economists expect the private sector to have added 165,000 in June compared to the 135,000 jobs added in May.
The Commerce Department is set to release its trade balance report for May at 8:30 am ET. The consensus estimates call for a deficit of $40.8 billion for May, wider than the $40.3 billion deficit reported for April.
Simultaneously, the Labor Department will release its jobless claims report for the week ended June 29. Economists expected claims to have declined to 345,000 in the week from 346,000 in the previous week.
Later during the session, the Institute for Supply Management is due to release the results of its non-manufacturing survey. Economists expect the index to have risen to 54.5 in June from 53.7 in May.
