Gold advanced for a second day as expectations that Slovakia will approve Europe’s enhanced bailout fund strengthened the euro and increased the appeal of the metal priced in U.S. dollars. Bullion for immediate delivery climbed as much as 0.5 percent to $1,684.38 an ounce and traded at $1,681.48 at 9:24 a.m. in Singapore. It reached $1,692.18 an ounce yesterday, the highest price since Sept. 23, as the dollar dropped. “Gold gained, buoyed by a weaker dollar,” Natalie Robertson, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., wrote in a note today. Slovakia, the only country in the 17-nation euro area that hasn’t approved an enhanced European Financial Stability Facility, will complete approval today or tomorrow after its largest opposition party backed the motion. European Commission President Jose Barroso yesterday called for support for crisis- hit banks, the payout of a sixth loan to Greece and a faster start for a permanent rescue fund. December-delivery futures were little changed at $1,683.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Cash silver were little changed at $32.5925 an ounce and palladium advanced 1 percent to $615.25 an ounce. Spot platinum was little changed at $1,552.65 an ounce. To contact the reporter for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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