KARACHI: Improved demand because of Christmas mended falling gold prices as leading buyers in international and domestic market indulged in trading, dealers said. The domestic dealers said that the real increase in gold prices would come next week when gold is expected to get expensive substantially by Rs 500 to Rs 700 per tola. The gold trading closed at $1,134 an ounce in international market with $1 increase in price. In domestic market yellow metal gained Rs 26 per tola to stay at Rs 44,536 per tola, while in term of grammage it close at Rs 38,223 per ten grammes with a gain of Rs 23 per ten grammes, traders said. The gold price remained in the hands of manipulators in India, Pakistan and other major gold buying countries, as they were busy influencing current prices and futures on speculations. The potential buyers in India and Pakistan remained busy in hedging.