By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Gold futures were little changed in electronic trading Wednesday in Asia after reclaiming the $1,800 ounce level in the U.S. session.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z -0.53% was up $5.20, or 0.3%, from its previous settlement, at $1,835.00 in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract jumped $38.20, or 2.1%, to $1,829.80 an ounce in New York on Tuesday. See report on Tuesday’s gold trading.
Spot gold indicated a more cautious mood among traders, as bullion eased $1.60 an ounce, or 0.1%, to $1,833.50.
Scotia Capital managing director Sunil Kashyap in Hong Kong said gold has recently drawn interest from non-traditional buyers, such as hedge funds and wealthy individuals, which has made it difficult to assess price direction.
“Any level below $1,800 per ounce should see some buying because when prices went to $1,900, many investors were on the sidelines,” said Kashyap.
Meanwhile, China’s bullion-accumulation program was in the spotlight Wednesday after a People’s Bank of China adviser told the China Business News that Beijing should increase its holdings of gold and other commodities.
“China should realize that gold is an important strategic reserve, and should increase its holdings over the long term, buying on price dips,” PBOC adviser Xia Bin said, according to a Dow Jones Newswires account. “In the past we have not established this as an investment principle, but now we must.”
