Gold May Rise for 5th Week as Investors Seek Haven, Survey Says

By Pham-Duy Nguyen

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a fifth straight week on speculation record energy costs and slumping equities will spark demand for a haven.

Eighteen of 25 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago on July 10 and July 11 advised buying gold, which gained 2.9 percent to $960.60 an ounce last week in New York. Five said to sell, and two were neutral.

Crude-oil futures reached a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11, heightening inflation expectations. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell into a bear market last week. Gold reached an all-time high of $1,033.90 on March 17.

A majority of analysts surveyed July 3 and July 4 anticipated gold's gain last week. The survey has forecast prices accurately in 134 of 219 weeks, or 61 percent of the time.

This week's survey results: Bullish: 18 Bearish: 5 Neutral: 2

To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.