By Zachary Howard -
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The newest U.S. gold exchange-traded fund, iShares COMEX Gold Trust, will make its long awaited debut on the American Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol IAU, Barclays Global Investors said on Thursday.
"We heard from the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) late last night that we are effective with our gold product and we're scheduled to launch tomorrow," a Barclays spokeswoman said.
In a posting on its Web site, AMEX also said IShares COMEX Gold was expected to start trading on Friday.
Gold ETFs, designed to reflect the price of the precious metal, have been aimed at drawing the investment capital that helped lift bullion to a 16-year high above $456 late in 2004.
The first U.S. gold ETF, StreetTRACKS Gold Trust which is backed by bullion, made a smash debut on the New York Stock Exchange in November and has amassed more than $2 billion in value.
Other gold ETFs have launched in Australia, South Africa and Britain but have not matched the value of the first such U.S. offering.
Barclays filed a registration with the SEC for iShares COMEX Gold early in 2004.
The ETF's trustee, the Bank of New York, will oversee its day-to-day operations. The bank will set the net asset value daily, based on the settlement price for spot-month gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, less the trust's expenses and liabilities.
The custodian will be the Bank of Nova Scotia, which has storage capabilities in New York, London and other locations worldwide.
Barclays Capital, a leading bullion market player, will be the initial buyer of shares issued by the trust.
At midday on Thursday, COMEX benchmark February gold was quoted at $425.10 an ounce, down $1.80 on the day.
Source: Reuters
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