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Asian gold unchanged in afternoon, seen moving up

HONG KONG: Asian spot gold was little changed on Thursday in two-way trade in a quiet, nervous market, but mildly bullish sentiment could lead to a move upward, traders said.

Gold bullion was quoted at US$302.50/303.50 per ounce late on Thursday compared to New York's previous close at US$301.50/303.50 on Wednesday.

Spot palladium was quoted at US$715.00/725.00 an ounce, an all time high, in early European trading.

The gold market was alert to news from bankers for Ashanti Goldfields Co Ltd, the troubled African miner which faced a deadline on margin calls.

Any news that Ashanti was forced to close down hedge positions could involve buying of as much as a million ounces and could send the market to US$315 or higher, a trader said.

"We saw some Australian buying, possibly short-covering from the US through Sydney, but TOCOM remained quiet," another trader said.

Gold could rise on improved sentiment after it closed above US$300 an ounce again last night in New York, a trader said. The range was between US$300 and US$305.

Spot silver was quoted at US$5.24/27 an ounce after closing in New York at US$5.25/28 on Wednesday.

Local tael gold was quoted HK$30 up at HK$2,797.

The carry over charge at the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society was -8, down from its previous fix at -5.-Reuters