Gold, trading above $1,900 an ounce, advanced toward a record on speculation that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen, damping economic growth and driving investors to protect their wealth. Gold for immediate delivery gained as much as 0.6 percent to $1,911.07 an ounce, trading within 0.2 percent of the all- time high of $1,913.50 reached Aug. 23. It was at $1,910.27 as of 12:34 p.m. Singapore time. Futures for December delivery in New York were at $1,912.40, up 1.9 percent from their close on Sept. 2. Floor trading in the U.S. was closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday. “Fear continues to dominate European markets with the debt crisis center of attention,” Lachlan Shaw, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in an e-mail. “The gold price rose to near record highs as investors embraced safe-haven assets.” Gold is in the 11th year of a bull market, the longest winning streak since at least 1920 in London, as investors seek to diversify away from equities and some currencies. The metal is up 34 percent this year, outperforming global stocks, commodities and Treasuries. It climbed to records priced in euros and British pounds today. Stocks Decline Asian equities dropped for a third day as Finnish, German and Dutch finance ministers meet today to discuss a demand by Finland for collateral in Greece’s bailout, threatening rescue measures for the region. U.S. stock futures fell today, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may slide for a third day before Italian lawmakers debate an austerity package amid a strike called by the nation’s biggest union. “I don’t think investors are really convinced that European governments have got what it takes, got the political will to sort out the crisis and also do it sooner rather than later,” said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. “So we’re going to continue to see speculation about the impending doom in Europe dominating markets for the time being.” Platinum for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,888.40 an ounce, trading below gold for a second day. Cash silver rose 0.5 percent to $43.1312 an ounce and palladium gained 0.5 percent to $768 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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