Gold steady on weak US data, Greek crisis

Spot gold held steady on Thursday, supported by worries about economic recovery triggered by sluggish U.S. employment and manufacturing data, and as optimism over a solution to the Greek debt crisis faded after Moody’s cut the country’s credit rating

Spot gold [XAU= 1539.6899 -0.51 (-0.03%) ] edged up 0.1 percent to $1,541.89 an ounce, extending gains from the previous session.

U.S. gold [GCCV1 1542.00 -0.40 (-0.03%) ] was flat at $1,543.20.

Fears mounted that the U.S. economy may be running out of steam as data showed that companies hired far fewer workers than expected in May and output in the manufacturing sector hit its lowest level since 2009.

The cloudy economic outlook drove investors to seek a safe haven in gold, pushing the holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust [GLD 149.91 0.27 (+0.18%) ], the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, up 2.121 metric tones to 1,212.866 metric tones.

Moody’s cut Greece’s credit rating by three notches on debt restructuring worries, dampening optimism earlier in the week that the debt-laden country would receive a second bailout package and avoid restructuring.
Spot silver [XAG= 37.09 0.30 (+0.82%) ] gained 0.7 percent to $37.06, after slipping more than 4 percent in the previous session. U.S. silver [SICV1 37.075 -0.619 (-1.64%) ] fell 1.6 percent to $37.08. – Reuters

Tags: gold prices