Gold Ends A Tad Higher On Ukraine, Weak Dollar

(RTTNews) - Gold futures snapped a two-day loss to end slightly higher Monday, on continued concerns over the situation in eastern Ukraine, even as the dollar trended lower against a basket of major currencies.

Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.40 percent to close at $1,293.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Gold for June delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,305.70 and a low of $1,289.50 an ounce.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down to 781.98 tons on Monday, from its previous close of 782.25 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 79.98 on Monday, down from its previous close of 80.06 late Friday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.04 intraday and a low of 79.88.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3713 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3693 late Friday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3734 intraday and a low of $1.3696.

In economic news, Germany's economic growth is expected to slow in months ahead after mild weather boosted expansion in the first quarter, the Bundesbank said in its monthly report on Monday. The economic upturn will be driven by domestic growth in the second quarter, while contribution from abroad will be moderate.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the housing market has "deep deep" problems and represents the biggest risk to the economy. In an interview with Sky News, Carney said insufficient number of houses is the issue around the housing market.

Meanwhile, investors look ahead to some crucial economic reports, including the U.S. housing data for April and the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting.

The U.S. jobless claims report, the flash estimate of Markit's U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers' index for May, the Conference Board's leading economic indicators index for April, and a couple of regional Federal Reserves' manufacturing activity readings.

Investors will also await comments from several Fed officials during the week, including one from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.