SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold held above $422 an ounce and silver surged to a 3-week high in Asia on Thursday, aided by physical buying and renewed interest from funds.
Spot gold rose to $423.10 an ounce, a week high, before easing slightly to $422.50/423.00 an ounce by 0458 GMT. That compared with $421.30/422.00 an ounce last quoted in New York on Wednesday.
"There's some physical buying around at the lower levels which helps support the market," said Martin Mayne, associate director at N M Rothschild in Sydney.
"Some people have been short and buy back their positions," said Mayne, who expects gold to trade between $418 and $425 an ounce this week.
Silver was trading at $7.18/7.20 an ounce compared with $7.18/7.21 in late U.S. trade. The metal, used in photography, jewellery and electronics, earlier touched $7.21 an ounce in Asia -- its highest level since April 28.
"Silver is less liquid, so it does tend to get pushed around a bit more by the funds," said one dealer in Singapore.
"We've got some private investors who are taking profit as the price moves up, but there's plenty of buying as well."
Some dealers pegged key resistance at around $7.30 -- a previous high seen in April.
On Hong Kong's Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange, gold was quoted at HK$3,926 per tael (37.5 gram ingot) by midday, up from an opening HK$3,920.
"I think the chart has turned bullish again for gold. It will be nice to see gold close above the 200-day moving average of around $425," said the Singapore dealer.
"There's some buying through the broker today," he said.
In the currency market, the dollar retreated from peaks hit earlier in the week, but dealers said the currency remained supported by expectations the Federal Reserve would raise rates a few more times this year at least.
The euro traded at around $1.2685, little changed from New York levels, but off a 7-month low of $1.2581 hit on Monday. Higher interest rates usually mean a stronger dollar, which also means selling pressure for dollar-priced gold, said dealers.
Platinum was trading at $863/868 an ounce, versus $860/863 an ounce last quoted in New York.
Palladium was at $188/193 an ounce, versus $190/193 an ounce.
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