Gold traded near a record, heading for a second weekly advance, as investors seek an alternative to a weakening dollar amid concerns that central banks may further ease monetary policy to revive the global economy. Immediate-delivery bullion was little changed at $1,294.38 an ounce at 4:43 p.m. Melbourne time. The metal advanced to a record $1,296.30 on Sept. 22. “It is continuing to appreciate at every opportunity,” Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. in Sydney, said today by phone. “We didn’t manage to break and test $1,300 but certainly it looks like it is still on the cards and could happen as soon as today, given the sentiment at the moment is still one of uncertainty.” Bullion has advanced 1.6 percent this week, taking this year’s increase to about 18 percent, and is heading for its 10th annual gain. Prices reached a record on three days this week and silver rallied to a 30-month high as the dollar slumped due to concerns that there may be a further easing of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve to safeguard the economic recovery. December-delivery gold on the Comex in New York was little changed at $1,295.20 an ounce, gaining 1.4 percent this week. Sixteen of 23 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 70 percent, said the metal will increase next week. Six forecast lower prices for the metal and one was neutral. The dollar traded at $1.3343 per euro at 3:53 p.m. Melbourne time. The currency slid to as low as $1.3440 on Sept. 22, the weakest since April 21. Central Banks Heightened concerns that the currency may be debased by an expanding Fed balance sheet, the potential for the Bank of England to follow suit and intervention by the Bank of Japan last week to weaken the yen had compounded gold’s “medium- term” allure, Edel Tully, a London-based analyst at UBS AG, wrote in a report yesterday. Silver for immediate delivery rose 0.1 percent to $21.1375 an ounce at 4:01 p.m. in Melbourne after yesterday reaching $21.2475, the highest price since March 2008. Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by silver, jumped 73.04 metric tons to a record 9,582.59 tons yesterday, according to figures on the company’s website. The metal doubles as a store of value and as a raw material for industry. Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed by 12,000 to 465,000 last week, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington, a sign companies remain cautious about hiring as economic growth slows. Ireland’s gross domestic product fell 1.2 percent in the second quarter, the Central Statistics Office said in Dublin yesterday. The median estimate of three economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for an expansion of 0.4 percent. Growth in Europe’s services and manufacturing industries weakened more than economists forecast in September. A composite index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers fell to 53.8 from 56.2 in August, London-based Markit Economics said. Platinum fell 0.1 percent to $1,638.45 an ounce, retreating from yesterday gain to $1,645.75, the highest price since May 19. Palladium increased 0.8 percent to $554.72 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Pugh in Melbourne at wpugh@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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