SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold prices eased in Asian trade Tuesday after an overnight surge but likely to climb back again as the dollar weakened further.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1137.39 an ounce at 11.30 a.m while December delivery was at $1137.91 an ounce at the same time.



On Monday, December delivery climbed $22.50 , or 2 percent, to finish at $1,139.20 dan ounce. In the after-hours electronic session, the precious metal climbed to the new peak of $1,143.40.

Bullion may also extend its advance beyond Monday’s high of $1,143.60 an ounce after the central bank of Mauritius bought 2 metric tons, or about $71.7 million, of gold from the International Monetary Fund, a move that may be followed by other emerging-market nations trying to diversify their currency reserves.

The Dollar Index, which the IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback’s value against six major currencies including the euro and the yen, closed down 0.6 percent at 74.894 in New York on Monday after touching 74.679, the lowest level since August 2008. It traded at 74.931 today.

The gold transaction is part of a plan by the IMF to sell 403.3 tons of the precious metal to shore up its finances and lend at reduced rates to low-income countries.

It comes after the purchase of 200 tons for $6.7 billion by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month.

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