The price of gold was lingering around its monthly low Wednesday morning, with the US dollar trading mixed versus a basket of currencies.
Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, eased $2.20 to $1,647.40 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled flat as the dollar weakened against most major currencies with investors weighing the outcome of the Group of Seven finance ministers meet even as members agreed not to target market determined exchange rates.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,326.89 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 3-week high versus the euro, while advancing toward a fresh 6-month high against sterling. The buck was hovering around its two-and half year high versus the yen and ticking higher against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, euro zone industrial production decreased at a slower pace in December, but the rate of fall exceeded economists' forecast, latest data showed. Industrial production decreased 2.4 percent on an annual basis in December, following the previous month's 4 percent fall, Eurostat said. Economists had forecast a more modest decline of 2.3 percent.
Germany's wholesale price inflation eased to its lowest level in six months in January, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The wholesale price index rose 2.3 percent year-on-year in January, slower than a 3.2 percent rise in December. Economists expected the rate of inflation to slow to 2.2 percent.
The price of silver was ticking lower and platinum moves higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department will release its retail sales report for January at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect retail sales growth of 0.1 percent for January compared to a 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. Excluding autos, retail sales are expected to have increased by 0.2 percent, slower than the 0.3 percent growth in December.
Simultaneously, the Labor Department will release its export and import price indexes for January. The consensus expectations call for a 0.3 percent increase in export prices and a 0.8 percent increase in import prices. In December, export and price prices fell 0.1 percent each.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its business inventories report at 10 am ET. Economists expect business inventories at the end of December to have increased by 0.3 percent, the same pace in the previous month.
