By Glenys Sim and Kim Kyoungwha June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained for the first time in four days, paring the week’s losses, as the recent decline encouraged some investors to buy the metal as a store of value on concern that Europe’s fiscal crisis isn’t over. Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent to $1,221.65 an ounce, before trading at $1,217.97 at 12:46 p.m. in Singapore. The metal shed 0.2 percent this week after two weeks of gains. “What gold is telling you is that the currency system, the debt system, is stretched to its limit and it doesn’t matter which western currencies you choose,” Juerg Kiener, Singapore- based chief investment officer of Swiss Asia Capital Pte., said. Gold, which reached a record $1,252.11 an ounce on June 8, may extend its advance next week, according to 17 of 25 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Five forecast lower prices and three were neutral. Europe’s fiscal crisis has driven the euro lower, bolstering demand for gold as investors seek to preserve their wealth. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank will extend its offerings of unlimited cash and keep buying government bonds as it tries to ease tensions in money markets and fight the European debt crisis. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, rose to a record 1,306.14 metric tons yesterday, according to the company’s website. Gold will climb to $1,500 an ounce in the next 12 months as Europe’s financial turmoil fuels demand for the metal, UBS AG’s economist Dirk Faltin and other analysts wrote in a monthly report this week. UBS prefers “unhedged, physically-backed positions over equities and paper investments in gold,” the report said. ‘Bubble Territory’ Gold has a “long way to go” before reaching “bubble territory,” Kiener said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Wong Eng Soon, Singapore-based analyst with Phillip Futures Pte., said gold may retreat to the $1,205 to $1,210 level for the day, though any close below the key psychological $1,200 level would be a surprise. “There may be more downside risks for gold,” Wong said. “Considering that gold was at $1,250 mere days ago, gold at $1,200 will be attractive to investors who will be tempted to take up long positions on bargain hunting.” Silver for immediate delivery shed 0.2 percent to $18.215 an ounce, platinum climbed 0.4 percent to $1,542.25 an ounce, and palladium was little changed at $451.98 an ounce after rising as much as 1.8 percent earlier. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net; Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at 1895 or Kkim19@bloomberg.net

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