Gold gave up its earlier gains yesterday as the euro declined versus the dollar amid concerns over the heavy indebtedness of smaller euro zone economies, although the metal was supported by bargain hunting.
The precious metal was fixed at $1 088 an ounce (R265 820 a kilogram), yesterday afternoon in London.
It went $6.75 lower from Wednesday's second fix and had risen as high as $1 095.95 an ounce in earlier trade.
"Currencies are clearly guiding the immediate direction of the precious metals, especially after fresh trouble brewing in Portugal, Italy, Greece, (and) Spain now, which threatens to undermine the health of the common currency," said Pradeep Unni, the senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services.
Platinum was $2 lower to fix at $1 517 an ounce, while palladium increased $6 to reach $426 an ounce. Silver fixed 12c down at $16.62.- Reuters
