(RTTNews) - The price of gold was steady near its 3-month low for a second session Thursday morning amid a generally weak U.S. dollar.
Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged up $0.90 to $1,333.90 an ounce.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,229.58 tons, its lowest level in the past eight months.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was extending its 2-month low versus the euro and continued to pare recent gains against sterling. The buck was struggling near its 3-week low versus the Swiss Franc, while moving higher against the yen.
The yen came in under pressure after rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Japan's sovereign credit rating to AA-minus from AA, with the outlook on the rating seen as 'stable', citing the country's soaring debt.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum moved higher in morning deals.
The Commerce Department will release its durable goods orders report for December at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a 1.6% increase in the orders for the month following a 0.3% decline in the previous month.
At the same time, the Labor Department will release its jobless claims report for the week ended January 22. Economists expect claims to edge up to 409,000 for the week from 404,000 reported last week.
Later in the day, data on pending home sales will be released by the National Association of Realtors. Consensus estimates is for the index to decline 0.5% in November, following an unexpected 3.5% month-over-month rise in October.
