Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa

By Niam Seet Wei

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 -- The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives settled untraded today for the 12th consecutive day as demand was curbed by a stronger ringgit.

A dealer said the firmer ringgit which climbed 140 basis points to close at 4.0410 against the US dollar today had dented appetite for gold as it made the precious metal more expensive to international traders.

On the global front, Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd dealer Ong Su Ling said benchmark COMEX gold futures, however, were traded higher amidst a weaker greenback.

“Going forward, gold is likely to come under pressure due to the COVID-19 vaccine-fuelled economic recovery in the United States,” she told Bernama.

At the close, gold futures on Bursa Malaysia for contract months January 2021, February 2021, March 2021, and April 2021 were all unchanged at RM235.60, RM233.60, RM233.60, and RM233.60 a gramme, respectively.

Volume remained nil, while open interest stood at 15 contracts.

At 5 pm today, the price of physical gold shed RM1.73 to RM232.73 per gramme from RM234.46 per  gramme at Tuesday’s close.

-- BERNAMA