SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold prices mixed in Asia Thursday as spot gold eased while US gold futures edged up in a highly volatile early trade.
Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1362.29 an ounce at 1.00 p.m Singapore time while Gold futures for April delivery edged up to $1,350.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
Analysts said ythe precious yellow metal is likely to advance during the day on speculation demand will increase as China returns from holiday and as the dollar’s rally stalls.
Continuing Middle East crisis and a weak dollar are also expected to boost gold’s appeal, they added. China’s markets are due to reopen Friday after the Lunar New Year.
The dollar declined against the euro before a report forecast to show U.S. consumer confidence improved. Gold typically moves inversely to the dollar.
Meanwhile, The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings slipped to 1,226.436 tonnes by Feb. 9, their lowest since late January, from 1,228.560 tonnes on Feb. 8.
Silver for March delivery in New York was little changed at $29.36 an ounce. Palladium for March delivery lost 0.2 percent to $817.75 an ounce, after climbing to $834.50 on Feb. 4, the highest price since March 2001.
Platinum for April delivery was 0.2 percent lower at $1,840 an ounce. It reached $1,863.40 on Feb. 4, the highest level since July 2008.
On Wednesday, the most active gold contract for February delivery climbed $1.4 per ounce, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $1,365.5 .
