(RTTNews) - The price of gold was extending gains Tuesday morning as the U.S. dollar was struggling to sustain recent gains versus a basket of currencies.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, added $7.10 to $1,596.20 an ounce. Yesterday, gold ended marginally higher as investors indulged in some bargain buying after the yellow metal declined sharply in the last week.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down to 1,275.46 tons from 1,279.08 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was hovering near a two-year high versus the euro and around a monthly high against sterling. The buck eased near a 2-week low versus the yen and trading flat against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, U.K. industrial production logged an unexpected growth of 1 percent in May from a month ago, when it fell 0.4 percent, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists were forecasting a 0.2 percent fall for May.
Meanwhile, industrial production in France declined 1.9 percent month-on-month in May, data from the French statistical office Insee showed. This followed a 1.4 percent gain in April and was steeper than 1 percent drop expected by economists.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were ticking lower in morning deals.
