The price of gold was little changed Monday morning, with the US dollar trading firm versus a basket of currencies ahead of the outcome of Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, slipped $2.00 to $1.385.60 an ounce. Last week, gold settled marginally higher with the dollar continuing to trend lower against some major currencies, even as investors continued to weigh prospects of the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting back on its monetary easing program in the near future.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,003.53 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was leveling off from its 4-month low versus the euro, the Swiss franc and sterling, while lingering around its two-month low against the yen.
In economic news, euro zone's trade in goods with the rest of the world resulted in a surplus in April, which was lower than a month earlier, data from Eurostat revealed. The trade surplus fell to EUR 14.9 billion in April from EUR 22.5 billion in March. A year earlier, the surplus amounted to EUR 3.3 billion. Exports grew 9 percent year-on-year in April, following a flat result in March. Imports rose 1 percent annually, recovering marginally from 10 percent slump in the previous month.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were trading flat in morning deals.
From the U.S., the New York Federal Reserve will release the results of its manufacturing survey for June at 8:30 am ET. The consensus expectations call for an increase in the general business activity index based on the survey to 0.50 from 1.43 in May.
Later during the session,, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its housing market index for June. Economists expect the index to rise to 45 from 44 in May.
