It is said from a lawyer that the three-day trial of four Rio Tinto executives concluded on Wednesday without a verdict.

The trial wrapped up at Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People’s Court at midday, and no date was set for the verdict, said Zhai Jian, an attorney representing one of the accused.

The four, including Australian national Stern Hu and his three Chinese colleagues – Liu Caikui, Ge Minqiang and Wang Yong – were charged with taking bribes of more than 86 million yuan ($12.6 million) and stealing commercial secrets.

All four pleaded guilty to bribery charges on the first day of the trial although they disputed the specifics of the charges.

The guilty plea came as a surprise to many as Rio Tinto had earlier defended the innocence of its four employees, claiming that they “had done nothing wrong”.

Court proceedings dealing with the theft of commercial secrets were held behind closed doors on the second and third day, and few details were made public.

Media reports cited another lawyer, Zhang Peihong, as saying three of the four defendants on trial for stealing commercial secrets had contested the charge.

The indictment alleges the four used improper means to obtain commercial secrets from Chinese steelmakers. The information they obtained is believed to have been used as a bargaining chip to drive up the price that China pays for its iron ore imports.

In a statement, the spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said “they were not in a position to say anything further at this point”, but that Australian consular officers “will be present when the court reconvenes to announce its verdict”.

The statement also said the court will deliver its verdict “at a date to be determined”.

“The Australian government will continue to provide consular assistance to Mr Hu throughout this process, consistently engaging the Chinese authorities to safeguard his welfare and rights under Chinese law. We continue to maintain close consultation with Hu’s family and his employer,” it said.

The four face jail terms of at least five years for bribery, and the maximum penalty for industrial espionage is seven years.

It is reported that gold rebounded strength on Thursday after hitting a 6-week low the previous day, but a strong US dollar capped gains while uncertainties about the outcome of a European Union summit drove some investors away.

Gold, which hovered below the closely watched 50-day and 100-day moving averages, has failed to attract safe-haven buying this week despite fiscal worries about Greece, with losses in equities market putting additional pressure.

Demand from jewellers picked up in Asia after prices fell more than $18 since Monday but low volume suggested consumers were waiting for more declines as bullion traded below the psychological level of $1,100 an ounce.

Spot gold was at $1,088.20 an ounce by 0305 GMT, partly due to a rebound in the euro, up $1.70 from New York’s notional close. On Wednesday, gold dropped to as low as $1,084.85 an ounce, its weakest since Feb. 12, due to falling euro.

Gold was about 5 per cent below a 6-½ week high near $1,150 hit in early March and traded well below a lifetime high around $1,220 seen in December. “There’s a bit of physical buying and this is expected because the price has dropped nearly $20,” said a dealer in Hong Kong. “But sentiment has turned bearish because we have broken several key support levels.”

US gold futures for April delivery fell $1.9 to $1,086.9 an ounce, hovering near Wednesday’s six-week low, ahead of a European Union summit later in the day. EU leaders hold what is likely to be a tense and difficult summit on Thursday, divided over how to help Greece and struggling to maintain confidence in the euro.

“We can say gold still follows movements in the dollar. I really don’t know what they are going to say on Greece and Portugal. Whether they will help them or not,” said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, referring to the EU summit.

“But I don’t think they will let the IMF help,” said Leung, adding that an intervention by the International Monetary Fund could further weaken the euro.

The euro steadied but hovered around a 10-month low against the dollar after a credit rating downgrade on Portugal added to worries about debt levels in some euro zone nations.

The euro edged up to $1.3326 after falling to $1.3305 earlier on trading platform EBS, its lowest since early May 2009.

The dollar fell against the yen, hurt by sales from Japanese exporters above 92 yen but the greenback retained most of its gains after rising to its highest level since early January on Wednesday.

Uncertainty about currencies and debt problems in the euro zone had pushed up gold prices last week despite a stronger dollar, but dealers said buying had dissipated after bullion failed to sustain the gains.

The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,120.079 tonnes as of March 24, unchanged from the previous business day.

In other precious metals, silver and palladium steadied after falling sharply the previous day, but platinum extended losses and fell to its weakest in two weeks on selling by Japanese speculators.