Qatar fund reportedly plans gold-mining investments By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold and silver futures both rose Monday as another round of worries about the euro-zone crisis and China’s economic outlook saw traders shun equity markets in favor of perceived safe-haven investments. Gold for December delivery GC1Z +2.00% rose $33.30, or 2.1%, to $1,655.60 an ounce in electronic trading on the Globex market. The December silver contract SI1Z +2.20% was up 78 cents, or 2.6%, at $30.86 an ounce.. The gains came as stocks dropped across Europe and Asia, while U.S. stock-market futures also pointed to further selling on Wall Street. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -2.19% fell 1.9% to 221.85 in early trading on the news that Greece is set to miss its deficit target for the year. Analysts at Karvy Commodities Broking said both gold and silver are likely to remain volatile in the coming days as traders look for clues on both the global economy and the euro-zone debt crisis. “Any positive signs from the debt-beleaguered euro zone will cheer up investors, and money may flow out of gold into stocks and other asset classes,” the firm said in a note to clients. Over the weekend Qatar Holdings, a division of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, said it would pay $775 million for a stake in European Goldfields UK:EGU +18.10% , including providing $600 million to finance operations in Greece. The Daily Telegraph reported that the deal is part of a broader strategy at the sovereign wealth fund, under which it will spend up to $10 billion acquiring stakes in gold producers. The newspaper said that the fund wants to invest in a range of commodities, but that access to physical gold is its top priority. Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London.

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