Gold climbed for a sixth day to its highest in more than two weeks as investors sought the metal as a haven from slowing economic growth and rising consumer prices. Bullion priced in euros and sterling reached records. Immediate-delivery bullion gained as much as 0.2 percent to $1,547.90, the highest since June 23, and traded at $1,546.80 by 3:23 p.m. in Singapore, heading for its longest winning run in more than two months. Futures on the Comex in New York added as much as 0.4 percent to $1,548.40, also the highest since June 23. “We remain bullish on gold for at least the rest of the year as the global macro-economic picture isn’t encouraging,” Chi Duofeng, an analyst at Bohai Futures Co., said by phone from Changchun, Jilin. Gold, which touched a record $1,577.57 on May 2, gained for the first week in three last week after U.S. employers added the fewest jobs in nine months in June and the unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly. Bullion denominated in euros touched an all-time high of 1,091.834 euros, while the precious metal in British pounds climbed to its highest ever of 969.0095 pounds, on concern that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis may spread to Italy, boosting the appeal of alternatives to a weaker euro. The euro dropped to a two-week low against the dollar and yen after German newspaper Die Welt reported that the European Central Bank is seeking to expand a fund to include help for Italy, while the Financial Times said yesterday that European leaders are prepared to accept that Greece should default on some of its bonds as part of a new bailout plan. Global Inflation December-delivery gold on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.9 percent to 322.03 yuan a gram ($1,549.11 an ounce), while bullion for June delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 0.4 percent to 4,023 yen per gram ($1,548.44 an ounce), reversing a drop of 0.8 percent. “Inflation will continue to be a big problem globally and this will keep gold prices supported,” said Chi. China’s inflation climbed to a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June, exceeding the 6.2 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 19 economists. The European Central Bank on July 7 increased the benchmark interest rate to the highest since March 2009 to fight inflation. Fourteen of 18 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said gold will increase this week. Holdings in exchange-traded products increased 78,780 ounces to 66.4 million ounces on July 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, hedge-fund managers and other large speculators decreased their net-long position in New York gold futures in the week ended July 5, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Net-long positions, or bet prices will rise, fell by 8,127 contracts, or 5 percent, from a week earlier. Silver for immediate delivery fell 0.9 percent to $36.3688 an ounce, while New York futures for September delivery declined 0.5 percent to $36.365 an ounce. Palladium shed 1.1 percent to $769.25 an ounce and platinum lost 0.7 percent to $1,725. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

Source