Spot gold traded steady on Wednesday, retaining most of the previous session's strong gains on encouraging economic data from the United States and Europe, and rising concerns on Iran also helped support sentiment. Spot gold edged down 0.2 percent to $1,599.59 an ounce by 0654 GMT, after rising 2.4 percent in the previous session.
US gold was little changed at $1,601.40. Shanghai spot deferred gold contract opened up 2.6 percent at 327.85 yuan a gram ($1,621 an ounce) as the market resumed trading after the New Year's Day holiday. Prices later eased to 326.75 yuan.