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.

Has the glitter of gold caught your eye? As the price of the precious metal surges to levels it hasn’t seen in 25 years, investors who might not ordinarily dabble in such things are wondering if gold should be in their portfolio. Some investment advisers tout gold as a way to diversify a portfolio and protect against inflation and a decline in the value of the dollar.

What is the best way to buy gold I am often asked. There is no big secret to this but probably the best way to buy gold is summed up in the word consistency. This means that, regardless of the price of gold at any one time, one continues to buy gold on a regular basis month after month, week after week, regardless of the price.

The cost of your gold is spread out evenly over time this way and, if the price of gold dropped say, at one time for a period, it would not matter particularly as eventually it will rise again and the average value of your gold holdings will remain the same, if not increase. Share investors understand this principle of consistency in buying regular packets of shares and the value and cost of the shares tends to even out.

One aspect that is not understood well is the idea that the value of gold can be too high. In actuality the value of gold remains fairly steady and it is the decreasing value of the currency that gives the illusion of gold being more expensive. The currency is not linked to gold and rides a roller coaster of its own when it comes to inflation and recession. The chart shown gives some understanding of the inflation linked gold price.

So the consistent buying of gold on a regular basis month after month, week after week, will even out the peaks and troughs and the asset value would not be affected by inflation.

In short, saving ones assets in gold is a far better deal than sticking money in the bank.

With gold then, it becomes a matter of choosing what gold one buys, keeping in mind the mark up or premium placed on various gold products.

Some gold coins for example, especially newly minted ones, attract a premium, such as the cost of packaging, shipping, insurance etc, which can be quite costly. Small gold bars can suffer the same costs also.

As in many other products, the more gold you buy in one purchase the smaller the premium you pay. The mark up and costs associated with buying gold in the form of a one kilo bar are far less, per ounce, than buying one ounce bars. Of course you have to pay the price for one kilo of gold and not very many people can afford to do so. How much gold you can buy at one time will depend on how much you wish to salt away for a rainy day on a consistent basis.

There are many places one can buy gold coins and small bars without incurring some of the heavy mark up you have with newly minted gold coins and bars. There is no investment opportunity in buying gold coins in a wooden box which one has had to pay for so provided the coins are sealed in their original plastic containers, a presentation box, although it ‘looks ‘ nice, is really superfluous to an investor.

Coin dealers selling proof coins, auctions and private sales are good look places to look. Join or belong to a coin club or association is a worth while activity since many club members sell coins to each other and there is usually plenty to buy. Scouring the auctions, such as eBay and the like can be time well spent. Spending some time studying the various gold coins and the value is time well spent also. Understanding the values of rare gold coins can net you some good deals also

Basically, applying just a bit of due diligence and some consistency in buying gold coins and bars on a regular basis is really the best way to buy gold!