Gold heads for biggest weekly gain since late 2011

REUTERS: Gold rose to its highest in more than a week on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly gain since October 2011, after a surge in physical demand in Asia helped pluck the metal from a two-year trough.

Spot gold added US$ 4.06 an ounce to US$ 1,471.05 by 0025 GMT after posting its biggest daily rise since June last year on Thursday. Gold plunged to around US$ 1,321 on 16 April, the lowest in more than two years, in a sell-off that surprised ardent gold investors and bulls.

US gold futures for June delivery stood at US$ 1,471.00 an ounce, up US$ 9.00.



SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.25% to 1,090.27 tons on Thursday from 1,092.98 tons on Wednesday. The current holdings are at their multi-year lows.

Turkey, one of the world’s biggest gold buyers, has imported more of the precious metal in April than in any month since last July following a surge in domestic demand after gold prices hit a two-year low last week.

Premiums for gold bars soared to multi-year highs in Asia after a spate of physical buying ran down supplies, with dealers in top consumer India expecting a surge in imports this month.

Russia and Turkey raised their gold reserves in March, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, increasing their holdings ahead of a spectacular plunge in prices this month.