Gold futures rose, capping the longest rally in six months, as mounting tensions in Libya and the Middle East boosted demand for an investment haven. Silver climbed to the highest settlement price since 1980. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has vowed to fight a growing rebellion until his “last drop of blood.” Gold climbed for the seventh straight session, the longest advance since early August. The price reached $1,417.30, a seven-week high. The metal climbed to a record of $1,432.50 on Dec. 7. Crude oil in New York climbed to $100 a barrel on Mideast supply concerns. Gold “will continue to be boosted by geopolitical factors, inflation threats, and from a return of investment,” Tom Pawlicki, an analyst in Chicago at MF Global Holdings Ltd., said today in a report. Gold futures for April delivery rose $12.90, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $1,414 an ounce at 1:41 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The price has climbed 28 percent in the past 12 months. Yesterday, gold held in exchange-traded products fell 4.86 metric tons to 2,014.8 tons, the lowest since June 7, data compiled by Bloomberg from 10 providers show. Holdings reached a record 2,114.6 tons in December. Gold’s 14-day relative-strength index signaled the price may be poised to drop, Pawlicki said. Margin Clerks “We are concerned that gold could turn lower at a moment’s notice, especially if the margin clerks begin to take aim upon the markets and begin to look for liquidity when and where they can find it,” said Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter. Silver futures for May delivery rose 44.8 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $33.304 an ounce, the highest settlement since March 1980. The commodity has more than doubled in the past 12 months. The metal climbed to an intraday record of $50.35 in January 1980. Palladium futures for June delivery fell $31.10, or 3.9 percent, to $776.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has jumped 78 percent in the past 12 months. Platinum futures for April delivery fell $9.60, or 0.5 percent, to $1,776.70 an ounce. The metal has gained 18 percent in the past year. To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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