The price of gold was little changed Friday morning as the US dollar was trading mixed, with investors focusing on the implications of partial US government shutdown that enters the fourth day.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, eased $1.90 to $1,315.70 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled lower after some data out of the U.S. showed initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits rose less than expected in last week, even as activity in the service sector dropped more than anticipated.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 899.99 tons from 901.79 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was lingering around its nine-month low versus the euro and sterling, while trading around its monthly low against the yen and extending losses versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's producer prices declined in August, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed. The producer price index fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in August following a flat reading in July. On a monthly basis, the PPI fell 0.1 percent. Economists expected prices to remained unchanged on both counts.
Euro zone industrial producer prices dropped 0.8 percent in August from a year ago, largely due to a sharp fall in energy prices, Eurostat reported. Economists had forecast producer prices to fall 0.5 percent after staying flat in July.
Elsewhere, the price of silver was moving lower, while platinum ticking higher in morning deals.
