Investing.com - Gold prices held flat in early Asia on Tuesday with investors watching events unfold in Greece which says it will fall short in upcoming payments on debt owed by the government unless it gets more aid.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery were mostly flat at $1.207.30 a troy ounce.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for July delivery fell 0.16%, to trade at $17.105 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for July delivery also eased 0.16% to trade at $2.822 a pound.
Concerns over the prospect of a Greek default continued to dominate market sentiment. Greece’s Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis warned on Sunday that the country would be unable to make a €305 million payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5 if a cash-for-reforms deal with its international lenders is not reached by then.
Overnight, gold prices swung between small gains and losses in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, as traders continued to monitor the direction of the U.S. dollar and mull the timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
Trading volumes were thin with markets in the U.K., Germany and the U.S. closed for holidays.
Last week, data showed that U.S. inflation rose for a third straight month in April and following comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.