By Chris Oliver
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures headed lower in East Asia hours on Tuesday, moving in parallel with weakness in regional stock markets and softer commodity prices following downbeat comments on China's demand by officials from mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. AU:BHP -0.11% BHP -0.61% . Gold for April GCJ2 -0.70% was down $11.90, or 0.7%, at $1,655.70 per ounce in electronic Comex trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. BHP senior executive Ian Ashby told reporters Tuesday that China's iron-ore needs were "flattening out" and growth in Chinese demand is likely to ease to single digits. While gold is often seen an investment rather than an industrial metal, some analysts point to price gains during the past decade that went hand in hand with China's industrial ascendancy.
