Gold may advance for a fourth day as investors seek to protect their wealth against the possibility of a global slowdown, with forecasts for a slower expansion in China adding to signs that major economies may be weakening. Immediate-delivery bullion traded little changed at $1,792.15 an ounce at 11:42 a.m. in Singapore after paring a loss of 0.4 percent. December-delivery gold traded almost unchanged at $1,794.90, also overturning a 0.4 percent decline. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG cut their forecasts for China’s economic growth, forecasting that weaker expansions in the U.S. and Europe will hurt the country’s exports. In Japan, exports fell more than expected in July, according to data today. “Gold is benefiting from ongoing concerns about sovereign debt and a world slowdown,” said David Thurtell, head of metal research at Citigroup Inc. in Singapore. Futures settled at a record $1,793.80 yesterday as investors sought to hedge against accelerating prices. An index of producer prices in the U.S. gained 0.2 percent last month, compared with a 0.1 percent increase that economists in a Bloomberg News survey were expecting. “We’re looking a little overbought,” said Andrew Gardner, an analyst at MF Global Australia Ltd. in Sydney, referring to the pace of recent gains. “But until the world’s problems, the big issues of the day being U.S. growth and European sovereign debt, are resolved, it’s unlikely to drop much.” Central-Bank Buying Spot gold has rallied 26 percent in 2011, set for an 11th year of gains, as the debt crisis in Europe, slower U.S. growth and inflation in China boosted investor and central-bank demand. Its relative-strength index has topped 70 since Aug. 5, a signal to some analysts who study technical charts of a potential drop. Exchange-traded product holdings increased for a third day yesterday to 2,198.727 metric tons, after reaching a record 2,216.756 tons on Aug. 8, Bloomberg data show. Thailand, South Korea and Kazakhstan added gold to reserves in July, joining Mexico and Russia in increasing holdings this year as central bankers hedge against depreciating foreign-currency reserves. “While overall central banks are probably still net buyers, there’s probably a bit of uncertainty over any response to the European debt crisis, whether or not there could be some selling in the short term to raise cash,” said Gardner. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez ordered the central bank to repatriate $11 billion of gold reserves held in developed nations’ institutions such as the Bank of England. The country, which holds 211 tons of its 365 tons in U.S., European, Canadian and Swiss institutions, will progressively return the bars to the central bank’s vault, Chavez said yesterday. Spot silver was little changed at $40.2975 an ounce, after reaching a two-week high yesterday. Cash palladium gained 0.4 percent to $777.50 an ounce, while platinum was little changed at $1,840.63 an ounce. To contact the reporter for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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