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Asia gold unchanged in afternoon, range trade seen

HONG KONG: Asian spot gold fell on Tuesday after dealer and other selling before recouping on short-covering to end unchanged in a quiet market.

Gold bullion was quoted at US$307.00/308.50 per ounce late on Tuesday compared to New York's previous close at US$307.30/309.30 on Monday. "We saw some dealer selling because gold did not have a good rebound overnight in New York and failed to hold above US$310," a trader said.

He said selling from Japan's TOCOM also pushed gold lower, but the price held steady around US$306 and triggered some short-covering.

Other factors weighing on gold were selling of physical gold and liquidations by weak longs, traders said.

The outlook was for gold to trade in a US$305 to US$314 range for the next day or two.

The market was following the fate of Ashanti Goldfields Co Ltd, which faces a deadline on Thursday to pay up for derivatives contacts.

With the gold price at current levels, the troubled African miner probably has some breathing room to reduce its hedge positions by buying gold, a trader said.Spot palladium jumped to an all-time high in Asia, extending sharp gains in New York overnight. It was quoted at US$615.00/625.00 an ounce in early European trading.

Spot silver was quoted at US$5.21/24 an ounce, unchanged from the closing price in New York on Monday.

Local tael gold was quoted HK$18 down at HK$2,842.

The carry over charge at the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society was -4, up from its previous fix at -5.1.-Reuters