The price of gold was moving higher Wednesday morning with the US dollar trading weak versus a basket of currencies ahead of today’s macroeconomic data. Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, added $9.50 to $1,251.00 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled almost flat on value buying, after suffering losses in recent sessions.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 848.91 tons. This morning, the U.S. dollar dipped near monthly low versus the euro, while diving near a yearly low against sterling. The buck was extending gains versus the yen, while moving lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, Germany’s consumer confidence gained momentum as the year comes to an end, survey data from the market research group GfK showed. The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose to 7.4 from a revised value of 7.1 points in November. The reading was expected to rise to 7.1 from November’s originally estimated value of 7.
Elsewhere, the U.K. economy expanded 0.8 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, in line with the initial estimate published on October 25. Gross domestic product grew at the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010, and follows 0.7 percent growth in the second quarter of 2013, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were trading higher in morning deals. From the U.S., the Labor Department is due to release its jobless claims report for the week ended November 23. The consensus estimates call for an increase in claims to 330,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its durable goods orders report for October. Economists expect a 2 percent month-over-month drop in durable goods orders, while excluding transportation orders may have edged up 0.4 percent.
Source: RTT Staff Writer
Source:Bullion Bulletin