Gold rises as physical demand grows

Gold traded higher on the first trading session of this year rallying from the worst year in over thirty years as drop to the lowest level in six months spurred investors' appetite for physical purchases of the precious metal. Bullion for delivery in January gained 1.5% to $1,224.11 as of 3:25 p.m. Singapore time after the prices slid to $1,182.27 on December 31, the least since June.