Gold prices faced resistance at psychological level of $900/Oz. Gold prices fell relinquishing early gains as global share prices arrested theirdecline and overshadowed credit jitters that had previously heightened bullion's appeal.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings remained unchanged at 1,105.98 tonnes as of April 21 after investor outflows early this week reached their biggest since early September.
Holdings hit a record 1,127.68 tonnes on April 9. Recovery in physical buying by India, the world's largest importer, with MMTC Ltd saying it would import
Gold rallied on Friday after China said it has added over 450 tonnes to its foreign reserves over the past six years. The reserves have risen to 1054 tonnes from 600 tonnes in 2003. This places China at the fifth spot amongst the gold-holding nations. Analysts expect China to buy more gold to match its holding with other central banks. This creates a very positive sentiment towards gold.
With Akshaya Thrithiya - an auspicious day by the Hindu calendar – falling on April 27, gold suppliers are hoping for a turnaround for the better so far as demand for gold is concerned! Since the gold prices in India having more or less hovered around the Rs 14,000-15,000 per 10-gram range for some time, the jewellery sales have plunged substantially. In fact, there was hardly any import of the yellow metal during February and March. 
Gold inched up on Friday, keeping gains above $900 after rallying to a three-week high the previous day, while holdings of the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund dipped further away from a record high. Prices were supported as physical demand from India, the world's largest consumer, has picked up ahead of the Akshaya Tritya festival on April 27, an auspicious time for gold buying.
Country's jewellery export witnessed modest growth of 0.45% to $21.11 billion in FY09 despite low demand from traditional markets of US and European countries. The sector performed well in first half of the fiscal. However, exports dipped by 18.9% during the second half under the impact of global slowdown and higher gold prices.
Gold nudged up on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session on concern about the global economy and the financial sector, as well as physical buying in India, the world's largest consumer. But the market lacked momentum to push towards the key $900 mark, weighed down by stalling investment in the world's largest goldbacked exchange-traded fund.
