(RTTNews) - The price of gold was paring recent losses Friday morning after European leaders agreed to take emergency action to bring down spiraling borrowing costs for Spain and Italy during the two-day EU summit underway.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, added $21.80 to $1,572.20 an ounce. Yesterday, gold ended at a one month low on investor skepticism on the outcome of the ongoing European Union summit meeting, a strengthening dollar and a significant decline is U.S. equity markets.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,281.62 tons.
This morning, the U.S. was leveling off from its one-month high versus the euro and hovering near a 2-week high against sterling. The buck was steady around its one-month high against the yen, while ticking lower versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the euro zone annual inflation remained unchanged at 2.4 percent in June, flash estimate released by Eurostat showed. Though the rate remained comfortably above the central bank's target, the European Central Bank feels that there is no inflation risk at present in the euro area. The June inflation rate was the lowest since February 2011 and was in line with economists' expectations.
Meanwhile, German retail sales fell unexpectedly in May for the second month in a row. Sales were down by real 0.3 percent month-on-month in May, marking a second consecutive monthly fall, the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The outcome was in contrast to expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent and follows a 0.2 percent drop in April.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department will release its personal income & outlays report for May at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the report to show that personal income rose 0.3 percent, while personal spending is expected to have remained unchanged. In April, personal income edged up by 0.2 percent and personal spending rose by 0.3 percent.
The results of the Institute of Supply Management-Chicago's business survey for June are scheduled to be released, later during the session. Economists expect the business barometer index based on the survey to improve to 53.1 from 52.7 in May.
