Gold Climbs to 3-Month High in London as Fund Demand Increases

By Nicholas Larkin

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose to a three-month high in London as holdings in the world’s biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion gained to a record, signaling increased demand for the metal as a haven. Silver touched a four-month high.

Gold in the SPDR Gold Trust expanded by 1.3 percent to 843.59 metric tons, according to data on the company’s Web site. ETF Securities Ltd.’s holdings also reached a record. Bullion is set for a 4.4 percent jump in January, the third straight gain.

“We are only hearing bad news across Europe, the U.S. and the Far East,” Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at MKS Finance SA, one of Switzerland’s four bullion refiners, said by telephone from Geneva. “The only thing left is gold.”

Bullion for immediate delivery climbed as much as $18.13, or 2 percent, to $926.78 an ounce and was at $918.74 at 1:10 p.m. local time. April futures rose $15, or 1.7 percent, to $921.50 in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver advanced as much 2.3 percent to $12.65 an ounce, the highest since Oct. 1, and last traded at $12.49. It’s up 9.6 percent this year. Gold rose to $918.50 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $892.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing.

Economists predict a report today will show the U.S. economy shrank at an annualized 5.5 percent pace last quarter, the biggest drop since 1982. Japan headed for its worst postwar recession as factory output slid an unprecedented 9.6 percent.

‘Strong Physical Demand’

“There’s really strong physical demand from the ETFs,” Bayram Dincer, a commodity analyst at Dresdner Bank in Zurich, said by phone. “There’s a motivation to preserve some wealth.”

Bullion held in exchange-traded funds managed by ETF Securities rose to a record 2.243 million ounces (69.8 tons).

“The relationship between precious metals and the greenback could be dislocated in the short run due to safe-haven investment flows,” Manqoba Madinane, a commodity analyst at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg, wrote in a report. “Precious metals could encourage investment-fund flows even if the dollar strengthens more.”

The dollar headed for its biggest monthly gain versus the euro since October. Gold typically moves in the opposite direction to the U.S. currency. Still, a stronger dollar has benefited investors holding gold in euros and sterling. Bullion reached a record 721.61 euros today and traded at an all-time high of 659.23 pounds on Jan. 23, according to Bloomberg data.

Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, platinum added $9, or 0.9 percent, to $984 an ounce, and palladium was 25 cents, or 0.1 percent, higher at $194.75 an ounce.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net