Gold may advance for a third day as speculation that Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis may be worsening and signs that the U.S. economy is slowing boosted demand for the precious metal as a haven investment. Immediate-delivery gold was little changed at $1,544.92 an ounce at 12:31 p.m. in Singapore after gaining 0.2 percent yesterday and 0.6 percent on June 3. The August-delivery contract was also little changed at $1,545.40 an ounce. Greece “is facing a default unless there is help,” European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday. Dennis Gartman, the economist who correctly forecast 2008’s commodities slump, said he planned to buy back gold after cutting holdings last week amid the U.S. slowdown. “The market’s still very sensitive to what’s happening in Greece and Europe, and at the same time sensitive to U.S. data,” Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd., said by phone. “Gold does benefit from the safe-haven status, particularly with regard to Europe.” Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou last week agreed to additional austerity measures to secure the next payment of last year’s 110 billion-euro ($161 billion) bailout. European Central Bank Governing Council member Nout Wellink said yesterday that a debt rollover may form part of a new aid package. U.S. payrolls grew at the slowest pace in eight months in May, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 9.1 percent from 9 percent in April, government figures showed on June 3. Manufacturing expanded at its slowest pace in more than a year in May and consumer spending rose less than forecast in April, reports showed last week. ‘Remain Buoyed’ “There doesn’t seem to be many reasons to selling gold at this present moment,” Heathcote said. “There’s still a lot of negativity in the market and whilst that remains, gold will remain buoyed.” The metal has gained 8.7 percent this year, extending a decade-long advance, the best run since at least 1920, as the prospect of currency debasement and accelerating inflation fuel investor demand. Fighting in Libya and sovereign-debt turmoil in Europe have also contributed to the rally this year. December-delivery gold contract in Shanghai gained as much as 0.6 percent to an all-time high of 321.25 yuan a gram, and last traded at 320.66 yuan at 12:35 p.m. Singapore time. China Universal Asset Management Co. received approval from the nation’s financial-market regulator to start a fund that will invest holdings in overseas exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, backed by precious metals. The open-ended fund will be the first in China that allows access to ETFs across a spectrum of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium, Liu Ming, a spokeswoman for China Universal, said by phone from Shanghai today. Immediate-delivery silver dropped 0.4 percent to $36.6550 an ounce, palladium was little changed at $788.25 an ounce, and platinum was also little changed at $1,811.55 an ounce. To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman in Wellington at psedgman2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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