CHICAGO, April 24 (Xinhua)
-- Gold futures on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange
rose Wednesday on physical
demand.
The most active gold
contract for June delivery rose 14.9
dollars, or 1.06 percent, to settle at
1,423.7 dollars per ounce.
Strong
demand for physical gold worldwide,
especially from Asia, continued to
prop up gold market, market analysts
say.
The U.S. Mint this
week stopped sale of the smallest-
denomination gold bullion coins as
demand reduced the inventories, saying
the demand for the one-tenth-ounce
coins went up more than 118 percent
compared with the same period a
year ago. Short supplies of gold
bars and coins are also reported
in some other
countries.
Disappointing economic data
released Wednesday also supported gold.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported
that orders for durable goods fell
by a seasonally adjusted 5.7 percent
in March, the biggest drop since
last August.
Silver for May
delivery climbed 1.6 cents, or 0.07 percent,
to close at 22.833 dollars per ounce.
Platinum for July delivery gained 13
dollars, or 0.92 percent, to close at
1,430.8 dollars per ounce.
（Editor：WangXin、Gao
Yinan）
