© Reuters. Gold price up in Asia on Greece
Investing.com - Gold prices gained in early Asia as Greece delayed a key debt payment to the International Monetary Fund, while regionally investors looked ahead to indicators out of Japan.
On Friday as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, facing fury among his leftist supporters, demanded changes to tough terms from international creditors for aid to stave off bankruptcy.
The IMF said Athens had informed the global lender that it plans to bundle four payments due in June into a single €1.6 billion lump sum, which is now due on June 30.
"Under an Executive Board decision adopted in the late 1970s, country members can ask to bundle together multiple principal payments falling due in a calendar month," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement.
It was the first time in five years of crisis that Greece has postponed a repayment on its €240 billion bailouts from euro zone governments and the IMF, and it came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said talks on a cash-for-reforms deal were still far from reaching an agreement.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery gained 0.18% to $1.177.20 a troy ounce.
Silver for July delivery rose 0.15% to $16.127 a troy ounce. Copper for July delivery fell 0.01% to 2.686 a pound.
Overnight, gold futures fell sharply on Thursday plunging nearly 1%, as Greece reportedly neared an agreement with its creditors following months of stalled negotiations, while the International Monetary Fund offered suggestions that the Federal Reserve should delay a much-anticipated interest rate hike until 2016.
Following a five-hour meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras appeared hopeful that a deal which could unlock critical aid to the cash-strapped nation will be imminent. The two were later joined by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers.
While Tsipras characterized the talks as "friendly and constructive," he remained adamant that any proposal, which included the removal of the nation's Social Solidarity Benefit for low-income pensioners and the increase of a Value Added Tax by 10 points on electricity payments could not be a "basis for discussion."
Although the European Commission indicated that "progress was made in understanding each other's positions," it still emphasized that no agreement had been reached. The two sides are expected to meet again before Tsipras is scheduled to address Greek Parliament on the progress of the negotiations on Friday evening.
Elsewhere, the IMF said in its annual analysis of the U.S. economy on Thursday that the Fed should delay lift-off on raising interest rates until the first half of 2016 unless there are significant improvements in wage and inflationary growth.
Investors await Friday's release of the U.S. jobs report from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics for further indications on the strength of the U.S. labor market. On Thursday, the Labor Department said in a weekly report that initial jobless claims for the week ending on May 30 declined by 8,000 to 276,000 from the previous week. Analysts expected initial jobless claims to fall by 5,000 to 279,000 last week.
On Friday as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, facing fury among his leftist supporters, demanded changes to tough terms from international creditors for aid to stave off bankruptcy.
The IMF said Athens had informed the global lender that it plans to bundle four payments due in June into a single €1.6 billion lump sum, which is now due on June 30.
"Under an Executive Board decision adopted in the late 1970s, country members can ask to bundle together multiple principal payments falling due in a calendar month," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement.
It was the first time in five years of crisis that Greece has postponed a repayment on its €240 billion bailouts from euro zone governments and the IMF, and it came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said talks on a cash-for-reforms deal were still far from reaching an agreement.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery gained 0.18% to $1.177.20 a troy ounce.
Silver for July delivery rose 0.15% to $16.127 a troy ounce. Copper for July delivery fell 0.01% to 2.686 a pound.
Overnight, gold futures fell sharply on Thursday plunging nearly 1%, as Greece reportedly neared an agreement with its creditors following months of stalled negotiations, while the International Monetary Fund offered suggestions that the Federal Reserve should delay a much-anticipated interest rate hike until 2016.
Following a five-hour meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras appeared hopeful that a deal which could unlock critical aid to the cash-strapped nation will be imminent. The two were later joined by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers.
While Tsipras characterized the talks as "friendly and constructive," he remained adamant that any proposal, which included the removal of the nation's Social Solidarity Benefit for low-income pensioners and the increase of a Value Added Tax by 10 points on electricity payments could not be a "basis for discussion."
Although the European Commission indicated that "progress was made in understanding each other's positions," it still emphasized that no agreement had been reached. The two sides are expected to meet again before Tsipras is scheduled to address Greek Parliament on the progress of the negotiations on Friday evening.
Elsewhere, the IMF said in its annual analysis of the U.S. economy on Thursday that the Fed should delay lift-off on raising interest rates until the first half of 2016 unless there are significant improvements in wage and inflationary growth.
Investors await Friday's release of the U.S. jobs report from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics for further indications on the strength of the U.S. labor market. On Thursday, the Labor Department said in a weekly report that initial jobless claims for the week ending on May 30 declined by 8,000 to 276,000 from the previous week. Analysts expected initial jobless claims to fall by 5,000 to 279,000 last week.