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Gold, trading above $1,900 an ounce, may advance toward a record on speculation Europe’s debt crisis will worsen, damping economic growth and driving investors to protect their wealth.
Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,902.05 an ounce as of 6:57 a.m. Singapore time. The metal touched $1,903.48 earlier, within 0.6 percent of the all-time high of $1,913.50 reached Aug. 23. Futures for December delivery in New York were at $1,905, up 1.5 percent from their close on Sept. 2. Floor trading in the U.S. was closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday.
“Fear continues to dominate European markets with the debt crisis center of attention,” Lachlan Shaw, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in an e-mail. “The gold price rose to near record highs as investors embraced safe-haven assets.”
Gold is in the 11th year of a bull market, the longest winning streak since at least 1920 in London, as investors seek to diversify away from equities and some currencies. The metal is up 34 percent this year, outperforming global stocks, commodities and Treasuries. It climbed to a record priced in euros today.
European equities dropped yesterday after an election loss for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party spurred concern that support may fade for bailouts of Europe’s indebted nations. U.S. stock futures fell today, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may slide for a third day. The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 2 percent yesterday, dropping for a third day, after data last week showed the U.S. jobs market stalled in August, renewing speculation the world’s largest economy may be faltering.
Silver for immediate delivery rose 0.2 percent to $43.0075 an ounce. Cash platinum was little changed at $1,887.75 an ounce, trading below gold for a second day. Palladium was little changed at $764.75 an ounce.