Gold higher on overnight buying

Gold higher on overnight buying

LONDON (Reuters): Gold gained near US$3 in early trade on Friday, on the back of good institutional buying while sentiment was affected by Indonesia's spiraling conflict, dealers said.

Gold was last quoted at US$302.20/$302.70 an ounce previous close in New York at $298.80/$299.30. Bullion was fixed $6.15 higher on Friday morning at $302.30.

Dealers said gold confirmed that its support level was around $295.00 on Thursday and good buying propelled bullion higher in early European trading.

Dealers said the bullion market would not be affected by the news because the mine was not a big producer but sentiment may be affected.

Another dealer said the Indonesian unrest coupled with the effect of sanctions imposed on India -- the world's largest consumer of gold -- over its nuclear tests this week, will have more of a psychological effect on the bullion market.

Silver was last quoted higher at $5.64/$5.67 an ounce from the previous close in New York at $5.59/$5.62.

The platinum-group-metals (PGMs) held steady in early trade in Europe, still higher on no news on Russian exports of PGMs.

Palladium was last quoted at $383.00/$393.00 from the close in New York at $370.25/$380.25. Dealers said palladium continued higher on short-covering in Tokyo.

Platinum was last quoted at $403.50/$405.50 from the close at $400.00/$402.00.