Gold rises on strong demand from Asia

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Wednesday to the highest level since April 12 on strong demand from Asia.

The most active gold contract for June delivery gained 24.9 dollars, or 1.72 percent, to settle at 1,473.7 dollars per ounce.

Demand for physical gold from Asia, China in particular, remains strong. On Shanghai Gold Exchange, more than 20 tonnes of spot gold contracts for gold of 99.99 percent purity were traded in the last two days. Back on Feb. 18, the first trading day after the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, the exchange saw 22 tonnes of gold traded. Actually, the Chinese mainland's imports of the precious metal from Hong Kong SAR has surged to 223.52 tonnes in March from 97.11 tonnes in February

China's swinging back to trade surplus also boosted gold. China reported a trade surplus of 18.16 billion dollars in April, after reporting an 884-million-dollar deficit in March. Dollar's going weak against major currencies further lent support to gold.

Market analysts hold that gold prices would be range-bound in near future.

Silver for May delivery rose 12.1 cents, or 0.51 percent, to close at 23.927 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery climbed 23.7 dollars, or 1.6 percent, to close at 1,504.9 dollars per ounce.