Gold price languishes after Indian surprise

New York (Mar 4)  The gold price failed to recover this morning after two days of losses resulting from India's surprise decision to maintain an import duty on the metal.

Traders believe that US jobs data due on Friday might lead to a rally, reversing the downward trend that has seen the gold price drop from $1,300 per ounce at the end of January to little over $1,200 today.

At noon, gold was trading at $1,204.02 per ounce, down 53 cents on Tuesday's close.

"The markets are in the doldrums, interest is low and real business is scarce," Marex Spectron's David Govett told Bullion Vault. "I doubt we will see a lot of excitement until Friday when hopefully NFPs [Non Farm Payrolls] might provide us with some impetus one way or the other."

The gold price has been languishing since India confounded expectations that it would reduce an import duty on gold, thereby helping to to boost demand, the Wall Street Journal says.

India is the largest consumer of gold in the world.

Source: TheWeek.uk