By Chris Oliver
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures traded marginally higher in early Monday afternoon in East Asia, with prices capped by concern the regional economic recovery could lose momentum later this year. Comex gold for April delivery GCJ2 -0.13% was at $1,777.40 per ounce in electronic trade, up $1, or 0.1% from its Friday closing level of $1,776.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In an Asian strategy note published Monday, Citigroup said it expects the pace of economic recovery seen in the final months of 2011 to "lose momentum in the near term." The investment bank cited concerns over an economic contraction in Europe, a slowdown in China and weaker core retail-sales momentum in the U.S. as factors.
