Gold Eases After Rally, Holds Near 6-Week Top

By: Reuters

Gold ticked lower on Friday after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session, holding near its highest in six weeks due to the uncertainty surrounding the euro zone debt crisis and the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro.

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Spot gold [XAU=  1759.99    -2.66  (-0.15%)   ]fell $6.21 an ounce to $1,756.44 an ounce by 0014 GMT, but headed for its second week of gains. Gold jumped to as high as $1,767.40 on Thursday, its strongest since Sept. 22 -- still below a record around $1,920 hit in September.

U.S. gold [GCCV1  1762.50    -2.60  (-0.15%)   ]edged down 0.39 percent to $1,758.5 an ounce.

Intense European pressure forced debt-stricken Greece to seek political consensus on a new bailout plan instead of holding a referendum after EU leaders raised the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro to preserve the single currency.

The Group of 20 is considering injecting billions of dollars into the world economy through the International Monetary Fund to increase global liquidity, G20 sources said on Thursday.

The Nikkei share average rose more than 1 percent in early trade on Friday, catching up with U.S. gains after a Japanese holiday, on optimism that Greece will abandon a proposed referendum that threatened to undermine a plan to contain Europe's debt crisis.

The euro gained against the dollar and yen in volatile trade on Thursday as optimism that Greece will forego plans to hold a referendum on its bailout package trumped a surprising interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.