Tokyo gold futures rose on Thursday, inspired by gains in bullion prices and New York's Comex market, which was boosted by US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comment showing tolerance for a weak dollar.
The benchmark December 2004 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange settled up 11 yen per gram at 1,394 yen, one yen above the days low.
The day's high was 1,400 yen. Other months rose by four to 13 yen. "TOCOM gold rose today as a straightforward reflection of the rise in Comex and spot bullion prices," a Tokyo analyst said.
Greenspan told Congress that a weak dollar could help reduce the US current account deficit, a remark that traders interpreted as an expression of tolerance for the dollar's decline.
Spot gold extended gains in New York, and rose to a two-week peak of $412.75 an ounce in Asia on Thursday.
Gold's fortunes have been firmly tied to those of the US dollar and it was the currency's decline to a lifetime low against the euro on January 6 that propelled the precious metal to a 15-year peak of $430.50 an ounce.
Total gold turnover was estimated at healthy 105,496 lots, or about 105.5 tonnes, up from Tuesday's 97,155 lots. TOCOM was closed on Wednesday to mark a national holiday.
In the spot market, bullion was fetching $411.75/412.50 an ounce at TOCOM's closing bell, compared with $411.25/412.00 last quoted in New York.
The dollar was fetching 105.31/39 yen, against 105.47/52 yen at about the same time on Tuesday.
Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.
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