Gold meandered in a tight range in Asia on Thursday, lacking fresh impetus to rise after it failed to hold above a key resistance at $440 an ounce. Spot gold inched up to $437.70/438.20 an ounce in late trade from $437.20/437.90 last quoted in New York on Wednesday.
The yellow metal has repeatedly edged above $440 an ounce this week, but failed to hold the level.
Dealers pegged crucial support at around $435 an ounce. Gold looks vulnerable to a sell-off after non-commercial net longs on New York's Comex market hit a record high 157,607 lots in the latest week's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data.
Despite a weaker dollar, gold fell nearly $2 in US trade market as speculators trimmed back some of their huge positions. Summer holiday's also slow trade in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia and put pressure on prices, said dealers.
"By the end of August, the situation will gradually change. The price will be encouraging," said Yukuji Sonoda, a precious metal analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo, referring to period when consumers would return to the market.
Sonoda pegged the bottom price at $430, while resistance levels were seen at $440 and $445 an ounce. In the currency market, the euro was steady from late New York levels at around $1.2272.
Silver rose to $6.93/6.96 an ounce from $6.90/6.93 late in New York. Platinum fell to $891/896 an ounce from $895/899 last quoted in New York, having hit a one-week high at $897 this week.
Dealers said China showed renewed interest in platinum this week, buying the metal on price dips as jewellers prepare for the week-long National Day holidays in October. The sister metal palladium was little changed from New York levels at $182.50/187.50 an ounce.