Monday in Singapore, bullion spiked during the thin trade on the base of stronger higher stock prices and a firmer euro, but holdings on the ETF slipped again as investors took profits from recent highs.
Spot gold gained 45 cents rising to $1,211.05 an ounce by 1:03 GMT, having fallen to a 5-week low on Friday before bouncing on bargain hunting and physical buying from jewelers. Gold struck a record above $1,264 in late June.
Japan's Nikkei average edged up by 0.4% today as beaten-down exporters gained some ground, shrugging off U.S. stocks, which fell on Friday to close out their worst week in two months as disappointing jobs data joined other recent evidence pointing to a tepid economic recovery.
The US major was trading near a 6-week low against a basket of currencies on Monday, while the euro held broad gains as investors bailed out of short positions in the single currency and unwound leveraged trades.
US gold futures for August delivery added $3.7 an ounce to $1,211.4.
The SPDR Gold Trust reported its holdings to slid to 1,318.915 metric tones by July 2 from 1,319.219 on July 1. The holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 metric tones on June 29.
The other precious metals were quoted as much as at about 1:03 GMT:
