Gold strengthened on Monday after Greece's parliament finally approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second EU/IMF bailout to avoid national bankruptcy.
Fundamentals
Spot gold added $3.70 an ounce to $1,723.09 an ounce, having fallen to $1,703.69 on Friday, its lowest since late January, as uncertainty over negotiations for Greece's bailout package prompted investors to cash in.
US gold for April delivery was steady at $1,725.60 an ounce.
Cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens and black-masked protesters fought riot police outside parliament before lawmakers voted on an austerity bill that demands deep cuts to pay, pension and jobs - the price of a 130 billion euro bailout needed to keep Greece afloat.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said China will start to fine-tune its economic policy in the first quarter, the official Shanghai Securities News quoted him as saying on Monday, the government's most explicit indication yet of a monetary easing.