The price of gold was ticking lower Tuesday morning as traders now shifted their focus to US fiscal cliff, with the US dollar trading steady versus a basket of currencies.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, eased $3.40 to $1,746.20 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled marginally lower as the dollar turned higher amid concerns over the delay in reaching a deal for the next installment of financial aid to Greece.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,342.20 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was steady around its 3-week low versus the euro and sterling. The buck continued to level off from its 7-month high versus the yen and ticking higher against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, the U.K. economy expanded 1 percent sequentially in the third quarter as previously estimated, ending three straight quarters of contraction, second estimate published by the Office for National Statistics showed. The third quarter growth follows a 0.4 percent decline in the second quarter and a 0.3 percent drop in the first quarter of 2012.
Meanwhile, a report from the Federal Statistical Office revealed that Germany's import price inflation slowed to 1.5 percent annually in October.. Economists had forecast the annual rate to remain unchanged at 1.8 percent. Month-on-month, import prices were down 0.6 percent, compared to a 0.7 percent drop a month ago. It was forecast to ease just 0.3 percent in October.
The prices of silver and platinum were trading flat in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department is set to release its durable goods orders report for October at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect durable goods orders to decline by 0.8 percent from the previous month, while excluding transportation orders are expected to dip by a more modest 0.4 percent.
The results of the S&P/Case-Shiller house price survey will be released at 9 am ET. The 20-city composite house price index is expected to have increased by 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in September. The unadjusted index is also likely to have risen by 0.4 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to deliver brief welcoming remarks at the National College Fed Challenge Finals, in Washington at 8:30 am ET.
