(RTTNews) - The price of gold was moving lower Friday morning as the U.S. dollar was steady ahead of today's inflation data.
Meanwhile, India proposed to hike customs duty on imported gold and silver bars to 4 percent from the present 2 percent, putting pressure on the precious metals.
Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost $12.20 to $1,647.30 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled marginally higher as investors returned and the dollar weakened notwithstanding some positive economic data from the U.S.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,293.27 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was hovering near a monthly high versus the euro, while ticking lower against sterling. The buck was extending its 1-year peak versus the yen and edging higher against the Swiss franc
In economic news, euro zone merchandise trade balance slipped to a deficit in January, and exceeded economists' forecast, data released by statistical office Eurostat showed. The trade balance was a deficit of EUR7.6 billion in January, compared to a surplus of EUR9.1 billion in December, which was revised down from EUR9.7 billion. Economists were looking for a deficit of EUR3 billion in January.
The prices of silver and platinum were ticking lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department will release its consumer price inflation report for February at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the headline index to have increased 0.5 percent compared to a 0.2 percent increase in core inflation.
The Federal Reserve's industrial production report is due out at 9:15 am ET. Economists estimate 0.5 percent growth in industrial production for February.
The preliminary report of the Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for March is scheduled to be released at 9.55 am ET. The consumer sentiment index is expected to edge down to 75.3 from February's 76.
