Gold inched down in Asia on Monday and silver dipped from its highest level in a month in trade thinned by holidays in London and New York. A fall in the euro against the dollar also discouraged investors from taking fresh positions but physical demand should provide some support at $416 to $417 an ounce, dealers said. US financial markets are closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday and London dealers will also be out of action because of a public holiday.
Spot gold was trading at $419.25/419.75 an ounce, versus $419.80/420.30 an ounce last quoted in New York on Friday. "People are hesitant to take position because of the holidays.
But at the moment, the damage caused by the French referendum seems muted," said one dealer in Singapore, which is Southeast Asia's biggest bullion trading centre.
The euro fell against the dollar on Monday after French voters decisively rejected the new European Union constitution, casting doubt on the political future of the bloc.
The euro fell as low as $1.2510 from around $1.2580 in late New York trade on Friday before recovering to $1.2537, still not far from a seven-month low near $1.2495 hit last week.
A firmer dollar makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. Silver, which rose to a one-month high of $7.28 on ounce on Friday, was quoted at $7.25/7.27 an ounce versus $7.27/7.30 in late US trade.
"Compared to gold, I think silver is relatively holding well. There seems to be good interest in that metal," said the Singapore dealer. Dealers said silver was supported by talk that a new exchange-traded fund for the metal would soon be posted with US exchange regulators.
A positive outlook for silver from consultant GFMS had also helped. Platinum was trading at $859.50/864.50 an ounce versus $861/865 last quoted in New York, while sister metal palladium was at $183/188 an ounce, versus $184/188.
In Tokyo, the benchmark April gold contract rose three yen per gram to 1,459 yen.