Gold prices up in early Asia as Greece says ready to keep talking

Investing.com - Gold prices gained in early Asia on Monday with Greece a prime focus as what appear to be last-ditch talks to avoid missed payments are set to resume.

Greece remains open to finding a deal with lenders and is prepared to bridge a budget gap as demanded by lenders but not by cutting pensions or raising taxes, the deputy prime minister said on Sunday after a breakdown in negotiations, Reuters reported.

In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis said the Greek delegation remains ready to resume talks but blamed European lenders for insisting on pension cuts and value-added-tax hikes to close the projected budget gap.The comments came after the European Commission said on Sunday the talks between Greece and its euro zone and IMF creditors did not succeed, leaving the final decision on whether the country is going to default to euro zone finance ministers.

A Greek government official blamed the lenders for the impasse, saying the lenders' representatives at the talks said they were not authorized to negotiate further on the matter.

Investors will also be looking ahead to Wednesday’s Fed rate statement for a clear signal on when it could start to raise interest rates.

Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.48% at $1,184.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for July delivery rose 1.12% at $16.002 a troy ounce, bringing the week’s losses to 0.46%.

Copper for July delivery eased 0.19% to $2.675 a pound.

Last week, gold futures ended little changed on Friday, but notched up the first weekly gains in almost a month amid uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve could start to raise interest rates.

Gold’s gain were held in check after data on Friday showed that U.S. consumer confidence improved in June as signs that the labor market is strengthening spurred expectations for wage gains.

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 94.6 this month from 90.7 in May.

Another report showed that the U.S. producer price index rose 0.5% in May, the largest increase since September 2012.

The data came after other economic reports earlier in the week, including on retail sales, underlined the view that the economy is regaining momentum in the current quarter after a lackluster first quarter.

But the greenback remained under pressure amid concerns that the Fed won’t offer additional information on its monetary policy plans following its upcoming meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Safe haven demand for gold continued to be underpinned by concerns over Greece’s deadlocked debt talks, with time running out to reach cash-for reforms deal before the end of the month.

In the week ahead, monetary policy announcements in Japan and Switzerland will also be closely watched.

On Monday, Switzerland is to release data on producer prices and retail sales.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is to testify before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, in Brussels.

Canada is to publish a report on manufacturing sales.

The U.S. is to publish data on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the New York region.