Gold at $1239 after Focus on Chinese Data

New York (Dec 10)  Gold settled modestly higher on Monday as the dollar eased, and after a recent sharp unwinding of bullish bets by funds prompted some investors to think the metal was near a bottom.

With a lack of major U.S. economic indicators on Monday, bullion investors focused on Chinese data that showed annual consumer inflation unexpectedly slowed in November, easing market fears of any imminent policy tightening, which is a positive for gold.

Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,236 an ounce. Most Asian share markets rose, energized by a potent cocktail of upbeat Chinese trade data, a weaker yen and a firm finish on Wall Street.  Spiot silver closwd at $19.77...up 25 cents on the day.