Gold edges up in Asia

Bullion edged up in thin trade on Wednesday, with sentiment supported by high oil prices, lingering worries about the severity of the European debt crisis and a shortage of gold bars in Asia. Spot gold rose $4.50 an ounce to $1,384.95 an ounce by 0650 GMT.
Despite safe haven buying related to the crisis in the eurozone, bullion was well below a historical high of around $1,430 struck in December. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings slipped to 1,271.467 tonnes by January 11 from 1,272.682 tonnes on January 10.