NEW YORK: Gold edged up on Friday on improved market sentiment after Russia revealed it had boosted its bullion reserves in June, but losses in equities and other commodities amid uncertainty over the euro zone debt crisis limited further gains.
The metal fell in early trade as the euro tumbled after Spain's Valencia region said it would seek central government help to repay its debts, heightening fears over the fiscal problems of the euro zone's fourth-largest economy. The single currency later came off its lows.
Gold investors also took heart as Russia's central bank raised its gold reserves by 6.2 tonnes to 836.3 tonnes in June. Official-sector buying has underpinned gold's rallies in the last several years.
Bullion is, however, on track for a slight weekly loss after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week gave no hint of new monetary easing. In addition, a string of sluggish US economic data stirred deflation worries, denting gold's inflation-hedge appeal.
The metal has dropped toward or briefly below $1,570 an ounce several times this week but managed to hold each time. Gold has been moving in a trading range between $1,527 and $1,655 in the past three months.
"We continue to find some relatively significant support at levels below $1,570 as markets are viewing them as a buying opportunity. They will remain the near-term levels of support," said David Meger, director of metals trading at brokerage Vision Financial Markets.
Spot gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,584.04 an ounce by 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT), rebounding from a low at $1,573.14 earlier in the session.
US COMEX August gold futures for August delivery were up $3.80 an ounce at $1,584.20, with trading volume quieter than usual, preliminary Reuters data showed.
Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.8 percent at $27.40 an ounce, while spot platinum edged down 0.3 percent to $1,408.07 an ounce and spot palladium dropped 1 percent to $573.75 an ounce.
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