Spot gold made it movements near the level of $1,600 Thursday as investors are waiting for the outcome of a euro zone summit whereas concerns over the US debt ceiling still support the growth.

European Union leaders will meet later in the day to seek a convincing solution to Greece's debt crisis. Failure to reach agreement could cause economic damage to the global economy, the head of the European Commission warned.

The gold market is likely to wait for direction as investors watch for the outcome of the meeting, as well as progress in the U.S. deficit talks.

"A positive resolution to either the Greek debt problem or a deal by U.S. lawmakers, or both, will likely undermine gold, targeting $1,550 and $1,500 in the short term," said a Singapore-based trader.

"A failure will push gold back into overdrive with upside technical targets around $1,640-$1,650 and then $1,700."

Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,601.09 an ounce by 0601 GMT, after rising nearly 0.8 percent in the previous session. Gold hit a record of $1,609.51 on July 19.

U.S. gold GCcv1 gained 0.3 percent to $1,601.80.

Precious metals prices 0601 GMT

Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1601.09 0.99 +0.06 12.80
Spot Silver 40.04 -0.04 -0.10 29.75
Spot Platinum 1778.24 5.98 +0.34 0.61
Spot Palladium 787.00 -5.22 -0.66 -1.56
TOCOM Gold 4064.00 21.00 +0.52 8.98 52253
TOCOM Platinum 4565.00 11.00 +0.24 -2.79 5969
TOCOM Silver 100.80 1.80 +1.82 24.44 842
TOCOM Palladium 2026.00 14.00 +0.70 -3.39 60
COMEX GOLD AUG1 1601.80 4.90 +0.31 12.69 11877
COMEX SILVER SEP1 40.08 0.52 +1.31 29.52 3581
Euro/dollar 1.4266
Dollar/Yen 78.81

TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.