Gold fell in London, cutting a second straight monthly gain, on speculation improving U.S. data will support the case for the Federal Reserve to curb stimulus. Silver headed for its best monthly climb since January 2012. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, reached a four-week high today after data showed yesterday the U.S. economy grew faster than analysts forecast. Gold reached $1,433.83 an ounce on Aug. 28, the highest since May 14, amid concern that the U.S. and its allies will take military action against Syria. Gold slid 17 percent this year as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value and on speculation the Fed will reduce stimulus. Officials will cut debt purchases at their next meeting on Sept. 17-18, according to 65 percent of economists in an Aug. 9-13 Bloomberg survey. Bullion rebounded from a 34-month low of $1,180.50 in June as lower prices boosted demand for jewelry, bars and coins in Asia. “Participants reduced their bullish positions in reaction to a batch of strong economic data from the U.S., which raised speculation the Fed could scale back stimulus in September,� analysts at Mumbai, India-based AnandRathi Commodities Ltd. said today in a report. They also cited “uncertainties over the likelihood of an imminent attack on Syria.� Gold Price Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.9 percent to $1,394.41 an ounce by 11:19 a.m. in London. Prices that are little changed this week are up 5.2 percent this month. Bullion for December delivery slid 1.3 percent to $1,394.20 on the Comex in New York. Futures trading volume was 17 percent below the average for the past 100 days for this time of day, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Bullion at the morning “fixing,� used by some mining companies to sell output, was at $1,392.75 in London, down from $1,407.75 yesterday afternoon. Holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded products rose 2.6 metric tons so far this week to 1,954.6 tons, heading for a third successive week of additions, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Assets reached a three-year low of 1,946.9 tons on Aug. 8. The U.K. parliament yesterday rejected Prime Minister David Cameron’s motion seeking endorsement for military strikes against Syria. Cameron had sought approval to join the U.S. in holding the Syrian government accountable for alleged chemical-weapon attacks against its own civilians. Silver for immediate delivery slipped 1.1 percent to $23.6255 an ounce in London, cutting this month’s gain to 19 percent. Silver-backed ETP holdings reached a record 20,080.9 tons yesterday and are up 6.2 percent this year. Platinum lost 0.6 percent to $1,510.40 an ounce and is up 4.9 percent in August. Palladium was 0.9 percent lower at $730.10 an ounce, reducing its monthly advance to 0.2 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Phoebe Sedgman in Melbourne at psedgman2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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