Gold futures surge on reports of rise in Asian demand

Chicago (Jan 4)  Gold futures surged on Friday on reports of rising physical demand in Asia, while bottom fishers snapped up nicely priced positions after the commodity suffered its worst loss in 2013 in three decades. With the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays set to begin end January, it is anticipated gold would benefit from increased buying in the world's second largest economy.

Gold futures for February delivery settled up $13.40 at $1,238.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. While spot gold rose 1.1 percent to $1,237.40 an ounce.