SINGAPORE: Gold edged higher on Thursday on persistent worries about euro zone debt woes and slower global growth, defying a rebound in the dollar. The dollar index rose nearly 0.4 per cent, after dropping to a three-week low in the previous session, as the Swiss franc fell on talks that the Swiss National Bank stepped up measures to curb the strength of the safe-haven currency. Investors, disappointed by this week's Franco-German summit on the lack of an effective solution to the euro zone's debt crisis and wary of sluggish global growth prospects, continued to seek security in bullion. Spot gold gained 0.3 per cent to $1,793.70 an ounce by 0646 GMT, headed for a fourth session of gains. It was only 1.1 per cent below its all-time high of $1,813.79 struck last week. US gold edged up 0.2 per cent to $1,796.80. "Gold is stabilising in the near term," said Ronald Leung, a physical dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "But low interest rates in the United States and the messy situation in Europe will push gold higher." Leung said physical buying was muted as prices advanced towards the record high, with investors waiting for a price dip. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds continued to draw interest. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold ETF, rose by 0.72 per cent on the day to 1,271.985 tonnes by Aug. 17. The Relative Strength Index on spot gold remained above 70, which suggests the underlying asset has been overbought, although it has been in this territory for nearly two weeks. Technical analysis suggested that gold faces resistance at $1,793 an ounce, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

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