Gold gains slightly on bargain hunting

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday gained slightly on bargain hunting, ending the week with a loss of 95.6 dollars per ounce. The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 5.8 dollars, or 0.45 percent, to settle at 1,292 dollars per ounce. Gold's gain on Friday was more a result of bargain hunting than that of news, as the possibility of Federal Reserve's trimming of the monetary stimulus later this year looms large. But the gain in the day was subdued because of continued selling. The increase of initial margins for gold trading by CME Group Inc is also negative to gold. CME, which owns NYMEX's metal- trading COMEX division, announced Friday that it would hike the initial and maintenance margins for gold by 25 percent to 8,800 dollars and 8,000 dollars respectively, effective after Friday's close. Silver for July delivery gained 13.6 cents, or 0.69 percent, to close at 19.959 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery climbed 5.7 dollars, or 0.42 percent, to close at 1,369.5 dollars per ounce.