The price of gold was ticking higher Monday morning amid a generally weak dollar, with traders awaiting cues from this week's economic data.
Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, added $5.40 to $1,718.10 an ounce. Last week, gold shed over 2 percent with deflation fears impacting the precious metal, as investors focused on the U.S. debt talks which is reported to have made "little progress" thus far. Gold thrives on inflation while deflation pushes the precious metal down.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved up to a fresh record high of 1,348.83 tons from 1,347.02 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was extending its one month low versus the euro and sterling. The buck was leveling off firm around its 7-month high versus the yen and ticking lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, The downturn in the euro zone manufacturing sector eased as estimated in November, final data from Markit Economics showed. The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to an eight-month month high of 46.2, in line with flash estimate. The reading was 45.4 in October.
Separately, the agency said that the German manufacturing sector shrank as estimated earlier in November, but the rate of contraction eased from the previous month. The seasonally adjusted PMI for the manufacturing sector increased to 46.8 in November from 46 in October, as recorded in the preliminary reports.
The price of silver was moving higher, while platinum was ticking lower in morning deals.
From the U.S., the results of the manufacturing survey of the Institute for Supply Management, which are based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide, are due out at 10 am ET. Economists expect the index to show a reading of 51.7 for November, flat with last month.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department will release its construction spending report, which is expected to show a 0.4 percent increase in October, slower than the 0.6 percent increase in the previous month.
