950825

Istanbul gold

ends easter

ISTANBUL: Gold prices ended lower on the Istanbul gold bourse, easing with world prices, dealers said.

Istanbul gold closed $0.50 per ounce lower at $384.00. The price in terms of Turkish lira dropped by 1,050 per gram to close at 591,600 lira per gram.

"Gold prices dropped in dollar terms in line with world prices. They were also lower in terms of lira because there was not a lot of demand for gold today," Atilla Cavdarli, general manager of the brokerage Guven Doviz AS, said.

"Dealers are doing block deals on the bourse and then selling the gold at the covered bazaar," he added.

Gold importers utilise the block deals to legalise the gold they import from refineries abroad.

They then prefer to sell the gold in Istanbul's covered bazaar -- the site of an unregulated gold exchange -- through deals they consider more lucrative, brokers say.

Volume on the bourse was 1,088 kilos, dropping from Thursday's 1,280 kg. Block deals equalled 928 kilos.

Trading volume in terms of Turkish lira was 948 kg and in dollar terms 140.

Traded value on the bourse was $13.5 million, lower than Thursday's $15.9 million.

Gold was fixed lower at $382.60 an ounce this morning in London versus Thursday's close at $383.30/$383.80.-Reuter