Gold inched up on Tuesday on persistent worries about indebted eurozone countries, while purchases from investors and jewellers pushed up premiums for gold bars to their highest in two years. Bullion's drop to its lowest in more than a month last week also helped lift premiums for gold bars, with demand picking up ahead of the Lunar New Year celebration in February.
Gold bars were offered at a premium of $3 to the spot London prices in Hong Kong, matching a similar level seen in late 2008. Spot gold rose $1.35 an ounce to $1,375.80 an ounce by 0640 GMT. Gold 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 rose to 1,272.682 tonnes by January 10 from 1,271.164 tonnes on January 7.