European gold edges up

Gold bullion prices gained ground on earlier losses in Monday's afternoon trade in Europe, encouraged by a slightly weakened dollar and fresh buying in New York, traders said.
But the market was entrenched in a tight range, unable to break above $410 an ounce, and bouncing off $405, they said.
"Gold edged up a touch - there was buying on the American opening, but then we hit a wall at $409. It's not been the most exciting of days," one London-based trader said.
Analysts said, despite last week's large long liquidation, gold could be looking to test its support level of $405 an ounce, before speculators decide to take on new positions.
Some analysts said a break under that level could trigger automatic sell orders, sending prices slipping below $400 an ounce.
But the yellow metal was still looking bullish and analysts expected that, in the long run, prices would surpass a 15-year peak hit at the beginning of the New Year.
Gold reached that peak of $430.50 on January 6, when the dollar slumped to a lifetime low against the euro, making the dollar-denominated precious metal less expensive.
The greenback has oscillated against the euro since then, gaining some ground after eurozone officials, including the European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, voiced concern over the strength of the single currency. In the absence of gold-related news, the precious metal has tracked these movements.
Analysts anticipated further volatility ahead of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting to be held in Florida at the end of next week, where the euro/dollar movements are to be discussed.
By 1615 GMT spot gold was at $407.80/408.30, versus New York's last quoted price of $407.80/408.55.
Spot silver stood at $6.29/6.31, down on New York's $6.35/6.37.
Some analysts noted silver's tendency to track spot gold prices.
"Silver is caught in two minds at the moment, with base metals rallying while gold is under pressure from profit taking related to the consolidation in the USD," analyst John Reade of UBS Investment Bank said in a daily report.
Palladium stood at $232.50/238.50 unchanged from the last quoted New York price. Spot prices rallied last week to reach an 11-month high of $250 in Asia on Friday, but analysts said the fundamentals of supply and demand remain weak.
Platinum was at $856.00/861.00, down on New York's $862.00/867.00, but still hovering close to a near 24-year peak of $868 it hit earlier in the month.