By Kim Kyoungwha July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained in Asia for a second day as weakness in the dollar bolstered demand for the precious metal as a store of value. Bullion climbed 0.3 percent yesterday, closing at more than $950 for a second day as the dollar traded near a seven-week low against the euro. The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the dollar’s strength, is little changed after closing yesterday at the lowest since June 3. “We expect prices to ultimately head higher, but the market needs to break the $950 mark more decisively first,” Stefan Graber, a Singapore-based analyst with Credit Suisse Group, said by telephone today. Gold for immediate delivery advanced 0.2 percent to $953.35 an ounce at 12:35 p.m. in Singapore. The metal has gained 8.1 percent this year, while the Dollar Index dropped 3.1 percent. Gains in the metal may stall. The market is “struggling to push beyond resistance near 955” and the risks are for it to pull back to 932, Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients, citing Fibonacci ratios that are used in technical analysis to determine highs and lows for an asset and predict direction. The metal will trade between 932 and 955 in the sessions ahead but a close above 955 would mean the gold could reach 983 in the medium term, the report said. Decreased Holdings Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, decreased for a second day yesterday, dropping 5.8 metric tons to 1,086.61 tons, according to figures on the company’s Web site. Bullion has been outpaced this year by silver, which has advanced 21 percent. An ounce of gold buys 69.3 ounces of silver, down from 77 ounces at the beginning of the year. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver climbed 0.6 percent to $13.79 an ounce, platinum added 0.4 percent to $1,181.50 an ounce and palladium rose 1.1 percent to $257.50 an ounce as of 1:40 p.m. in Singapore. To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at Kkim19@bloomberg.net

Source