SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold prices eased in thin Asian trade Monday as the euro edged up against the dollar.
Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1211.04 an ounce at 11.00 a.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $1,212.4 an ounce.
Volume was thin Monday due to a holiday in the US and UK markets but dealers expected bargain hunters to resurface at lower levels.
The euro was steady at $1.2282 holding above a four-year low of $1.2143 hit this month, but the currency was still under pressure after the Fitch downgrade of Spain.
However analysts said the precious gold metal could make a comeback later in the day as worries about Europe's debt woes still underpinned sentiment after Fitch downgraded Spain's credit rating.
Fitch cut Spain's credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on Friday, saying the country's economic recovery will be more muted than the government forecast due to its austerity measures.
Meanwhile, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings were unchanged at a record of 1,267.930 tones as of May 28.
On Friday, most metals prices fell as the US dollar gained strength against other currencies.
Gold for August delivery added 60 cents to settle at $1,1215 an ounce. June palladium settled down 40 cents at $461.85 an ounce.
In July contracts, copper fell 5.4 cents to settle at $3.1045 a pound, platinum lost $3.50 to $1,549.40 an ounce and silver fell 4.6 cents to $18.422 an ounce.
