Gold prices dip slightly in Asia with Greece debt talks in focus

Investing.com - Gold prices gained in Asia on Wednesday witrh investors squarely focused on Greece and the outcome of sovereign debt talks.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery fell 0.07% to $1,193.60 a troy ounce.

Silver for July delivery dipped 0.21% to $16.763 a troy ounce.

Copper for July delivery gained 0.05% to $2.739 a pound.

Overnight, gold futures rose modestly on Tuesday reversing slight losses from one session earlier, amid uncertainties in the Greek debt negotiations and a nosedive by the dollar.

Although gold has moved higher on four of the last five sessions, the gains have been unexceptional. Since plunging more than 1.5% on May 26, gold has moved less than 0.3% in a positive or negative direction in the last six sessions.

Traders could be waiting for a resolution in prolonged discussions between Greece and its troika of creditors before deciding how to hedge the precious metal.

In Berlin, high-level talks between top monetary policymakers and leaders of Germany and France on Monday evening dragged past Midnight, as the officials worked to craft a strategy on how to approach what could be the final round of talks with Greece.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, Germany chancellor Angela Merkel, France president Francois Hollande and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker were among the officials present at the meeting.

The meetings transpired days before a Greek deadline to meet a €304 million obligation to the IMF on Friday. In total, Greece owes more than €1.1 billion to the IMF in four separate payments by the end of this month.

The leaders "agreed that work must now be continued with greater intensity,” according to a statement issued by Merkel's office. The officials "have been in closest contact in recent days," the statement continued, "and want to remain so in the coming days, both among themselves and naturally also with the Greek government."

Last week, Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras said the two sides were close to completing a technical draft of an agreement that could unlock critical aid thought to be needed for Greece to stave off bankruptcy. Euro zone officials downplayed the developments.