Gold, little changed in New York, may fall as some investors sell the metal following a worldwide rally in equities and commodities. Gold is headed for the first monthly loss since March as worldwide equities rebound and Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis eases. The metal has dropped as much as 7.2 percent from a record $1,266.50 on June 21. “Gold is struggling to go higher,” said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. “The currency markets have stabilized, so we’re not seeing that flight out of currencies into gold. Investors have more appetite for risk than fear.” Gold futures for August delivery fell 60 cents to $1,191.10 an ounce at 11:29 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Before today, the metal gained 8.7 percent this year. Stocks in Asia and Europe gained and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities climbed as much as 0.8 percent. The MSCI World Index of equities had three consecutive monthly losses. “Traders are currently focusing on tracking risk appetite and keeping an eye on slowing investment flows into gold as the euro-centric crisis appears to be dissipating,” said Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, dropped 0.5 percent yesterday to 1,308.13 metric tons, the biggest decline since early February. Precious metals with wider industrial applications rose on speculation that demand for raw materials will increase at the global economy recovers. Silver futures for September gained 5.2 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $17.745 an ounce on the Comex. Platinum futures for October delivery rose $9.20, or 0.6 percent, to $1,527 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Palladium futures for September delivery advanced 50 cents to $451.55 an ounce, also on Nymex. To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.

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