Gold futures rose, capping the longest rally since November 2009, on mounting concern that debt woes in the U.S. will escalate, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as a haven. Standard & Poor’s became the second rating company to say it may cut the U.S.’s top credit grade, and the Federal Reserve said it may consider a third round of so-called quantitative easing if the economy falters. Gold rose to an intraday record $1,594.90 an ounce yesterday. “The flight-to-quality buyers are emerging,” Adam Klopfenstein, a senior strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “People are starting to question if the U.S. economy can keep its footing and keep QE3 off the table.” Gold futures for August delivery rose 80 cents to settle at $1,590.10 at 1:37 p.m. on the Comex in New York. That’s the highest settlement ever. The metal gained 3.1 percent this week and was up for the ninth straight session. The metal traded at $1,593.50 in electronic trading at 4:55 p.m. To contact the reporters on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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