Gold little changed after U.S. data, euro zone debt woes in focus

Forexpros - Gold futures were little changed during U.S. morning hours on Wednesday, following the release of mostly disappointing U.S. economic data and as markets continued to monitor the handling of the euro zone?s debt crisis.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,726.75 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, up a modest 0.1% on the day.

Prices traded in a tight range between USD1,731.05 a troy ounce, the daily high and a session low of USD1,720.55 a troy ounce.

Gold prices were likely to find near-term support at USD1,717.85 a troy ounce, Tuesday?s low and resistance at USD1,737.95, the high from November 11.

The U.S. Commerce Department said in a report earlier that retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in October, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% decline.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, were flat last month. Analysts had expected core retail sales to increase 0.2% in October, after rising by an upwardly revised 1.2% in September.

A separate report showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. fell unexpectedly in October, while core prices also dipped.

In a report, the Labor Department said that producer prices fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, after rising 1.1% in September.

The core producer price index declined 0.2% in October, defying expectations for a 0.1% increase, after holding flat in September.

Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories.

Gold traders were awaiting the release of the minutes of the Fed?s most recent policy-setting meeting.

Meanwhile, investors also remained concerned over the looming ?fiscal cliff? in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.

There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.

In the euro zone, concerns over Greece?s fiscal woes remained after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers earlier in the week ended without any final decision on whether to release an urgently needed EUR31.5 billion bailout installment for the debt-strapped country.

The decision instead has been postponed until November 20th, as the International Monetary Fund and European officials were unable to reach an agreement on how best to reduce Greece?s debt to manageable levels.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery added 0.25% to trade at USD32.56 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery shed 0.15% to trade at USD3.466 a pound.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/forexpros-news/~3/9hOD52bQSbw/gold-little-changed-after-u.s.-data,-euro-zone-debt-woes-in-focus-240719

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