Gold may advance for a second day on concern that a rescue plan for debt-saddled Greece will take longer to craft and global inflation may accelerate, boosting demand for precious metals as a protection of wealth. Immediate-delivery gold rose as much as 0.4 percent to $1,530.35 an ounce before trading at $1,525.55 at 11:49 a.m. in Singapore. The August-delivery contract advanced as much as 0.3 percent to $1,528.80. Cash silver climbed 0.4 percent to $35.55 an ounce, extending yesterday’s 1.8 percent gain. Euro-area finance chiefs struggling to break a deadlock on how to enroll investors in a second Greek rescue without triggering a default said yesterday they may need more time to reach a deal. Data showed inflation in China accelerating to the fastest pace since 2008 and exceeding estimates in India. “Concerns over the euro-zone debt situation and global inflation have reemerged,” Marc Ground, an analyst at Standard Bank Plc, wrote in a note. An increased likelihood of default in Greece “raised anxiety in markets, enhancing the safe-haven appeal of precious metals, especially gold and silver.” Gold will climb to more than $1,600 this year as low interest rates and concern inflation may quicken boost demand, Standard Bank said yesterday. Gold may extend a decade-long rally as demand surges from emerging markets including China, according to the producer-funded World Gold Council, or WGC. Bullion is up 7.4 percent this year, touching a record $1,577.57 an ounce on May 2, as individual investors, pension funds and central banks seek to preserve their wealth against a weaker dollar, debt turmoil in Europe and inflation. The dollar has slumped 5.7 percent this year against six major currencies. China, India China’s inflation pressures have yet to be contained by four interest-rate increases since September. The People’s Bank of China yesterday raised banks’ reserve requirements to drain cash from the economy after consumer prices rose 5.5 percent in May. India also reported a bigger-than-forecast 9.06 percent gain in its wholesale-price index for the same month. “There’s a tidal wave of gold demand coming,” Jason Toussaint, WGC’s managing director of U.S. and investment, said yesterday at the Bloomberg Link Money Managers Conference in Boston. “A key is the long-term fundamental change in emerging markets. The biggest markets of growth are China and India.” Spot palladium increased 0.5 percent to $797.75 an ounce and platinum climbed 0.3 percent to $1,798.50 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at kkim19@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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