China, India demand adds shine to gold

[SINGAPORE] It was all doom and gloom for gold at the end of 2013, but the new year has put a bounce back in gold prices.

Riding on the back of increased physical demand in China ahead of Chinese New Year and news that India may reduce its import duties on the metal later this month, the spot price of gold has climbed from a six-month low of US$1,182 on Dec 31 to US$1,248 late on Monday. It was trading at US$1,234 at 10pm last night.

"There's a lot of news about China, and people queueing up for gold jewellery," said Standard Bank's head of precious metals, Ng Cheng Thye. "That's why it has created a strong demand in the physical market."