The rally in gold earlier today may have been underpinned by the issue of new gold import quotas to Chinese banks.
Reuters is now reporting about the new quotas, citing four sources.
"The quotas have been issued but the
local premium to offshore is low so there is no guarantee that the
quotas will be used until things improve," one of the sources said. "Jewellery demand is still weak but investment demand is healthy."
Gold touched as high as $2501 -- a record -- but has since pulled back to $2485.