Gold firms 'fixed prices'

The National Development and Reform Commission announced penalties on Monday for gold retailers in Shanghai found guilty of manipulating prices.

Five retailers, including Shanghai-listed Shanghai Lao Feng Xiang Co Ltd, were fined 10.6 million yuan ($1.63 million) for price-fixing, said Xu Kunlin, head of the price department of the NDRC, in an interview on CCTV.

The amount equals 1 percent of their 2012 sales. Lao Feng Xiang shares rose 4.49 percent on Monday.

The Shanghai Gold & Jewellery Trade Association was also penalized for its "organization of unified price adjustments" by gold retailers over the past six years, in violation of the anti-trust law.

The manipulation involved both gold and platinum products.

The Shanghai trade association was founded in 1996 and was under the management of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Its 226 members accounted for more than 90 percent of the gold market in the city.

Its provision of the daily price range for gold was widely adopted by Shanghai bullion retailers as a guideline.