Gold rose near a seven-month high in London as equity markets dropped on concern the global economy is worsening, lifting demand for the precious metal as a haven. Silver and platinum also gained. Gold reached $987.71 an ounce two days ago, the highest since July 15, as investors sought a store of value and bullion holdings in exchange-traded funds soared to records. Stocks in Europe and Asia retreated today, sending the MSCI World Index lower for a ninth day. “It’s the global crisis making investors go to safe-haven buying of gold,” Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at MKS Finance SA, one of Switzerland’s four bullion refiners, said by telephone from Geneva. “Gold is acting on its own and only as a safe haven for investors, ignoring all fundamentals.” Gold for immediate delivery gained as much as $7.99, or 0.8 percent, to $982.65 an ounce and traded at $981.73 an ounce at 11:05 a.m. local time. April futures added $5.20, or 0.5 percent, to $981.70 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal rose to $981 in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $980.50 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Spot prices, heading for a second weekly gain, are up 11 percent this year, compared with a 15 percent loss in the MSCI World Index. Bullion reached a record $1,032.70 in March. Investors have increased gold holdings as central banks cut interest rates and boost spending to help revive economies. Gold in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, climbed to a record 1,028.98 metric tons yesterday, placing it just behind the 1,040 tons held by Switzerland, the world’s sixth-largest stockpile. Maintaining Momentum “Given the economic downturn and currency depreciation, $1,000 is an obvious target for gold,” London-based broker Marex Financial Ltd. said in a report. Gold “will be likely to keep its momentum in the coming week.” The global credit crisis poses a “serious challenge” to the financial system and economic policy makers around the world, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said today in a speech in Paris. The ECB will provide financial institutions with unlimited cash for as long as needed to help them through the crisis, he said. Britain is threatened with a decade-long depression similar to that suffered by Japan in the 1990s, Bank of England Deputy Governor John Gieve said yesterday. Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver added 0.8 percent to $14.1575 an ounce. Platinum rose $11.25, or 1.1 percent, to $1,080.25 an ounce, and palladium was 0.5 percent lower at $215 an ounce.

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