LONDON : Gold prices edged up marginally in afternoon futures trade Monday as rupee weakened further in the second session. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for April month contract was seen trading at to Rs 15,217 per ten gram at 3.58 pm, clocking a business volume of 33 lots. Trade sitting at the comfort of home. Start with a mere 50$ The current rise in gold mostly attributed to a rise in its prices in overseas markets as investors spooked by renewed turmoil on equity markets turned to the metal, but the stronger dollar is expected to cap gains. Spot gold was at $922/923 an ounce in early European trade compared with $922.10 an ounce late in New York on Friday. The precious metal fell 3 percent last week, but has held above $900 on buying by gold-backed exchange traded commodity funds. U.S. currency makes gold priced in dollars more expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar rose against the euro after the Bank of Spain said it would bail out a regional savings bank in trouble because of the slumping property market. A boost for gold was news that investors are still buying the metal. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings rose 2.45 tones to a record 1,127.44 tones on March 29. Gold rose to an 11-month high above $1,000 an ounce on February 20 as worries about the banking crisis escalated and slipped to $882.90 on March 20 on profit-taking as the dollar rose and equity markets calmed.

Source