Gold, which surged to a record in June, is headed for the biggest monthly decline this year as evidence of a global economic recovery saps investors’ demand for the metal as a store of value. Gold for immediate delivery, which touched an all-time high of $1,265.30 an ounce on June 21, traded little changed at $1,168.70 at 11:46 a.m. in Singapore. The metal has slumped 5.9 percent in July, the biggest drop since December’s 7 percent fall. Futures were also little changed at $1,170.80 in New York. “The gold price has recently been under pressure from greater economic confidence and firmer commodity prices, which have taken some of the uncertainty out of financial markets,” said Gavin Wendt, senior resource analyst at MineLife Pty Ltd. “In turn, there has been some selling of gold.” The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials climbed as much as 1.6 percent to 270.53 yesterday, the highest level since May 5, on speculation that the global economy’s recovery will lift demand for energy, metals and food. Data yesterday showed European confidence in the economic outlook rose in July to the highest level in more than two years. Concern that sovereign debt levels in some of the region’s states including Greece may be excessive and weakness in the euro helped gold to surge last month. ‘Further Outflow’ “We may see a further outflow of money out of the gold market as risk appetite improves,” said Chae Un Soo, a Seoul- based trader at KEB Futures Co. “Still, it is unlikely for investors to sell out of it en masse given that the global recovery is still tentative.” Nine of 22 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 41 percent, said bullion will rise next week as the price decline spurs physical and investment demand. Eight forecast lower prices and five were neutral. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were at 1,282.28 metric tons yesterday, 2.9 percent lower than the record holdings on June 30. Bullion slipped to a three-month low of $1,157.03 on July 28. Silver decreased 0.2 percent to $17.56 an ounce, platinum shed 0.4 percent to $1,555 an ounce, while palladium advanced 0.4 percent to $487 an ounce.

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