Gold climbed to the highest level this month after holdings in the biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded product expanded for the first time since June. Platinum advanced for a fourth day to a two-month high.
Bullion for immediate delivery rallied as much as 1.5 percent to $1,333.94 an ounce, the highest price since July 31, and traded at $1,329.21 at 8:41 a.m. in Singapore. Gold for December delivery climbed as much as 1.6 percent to $1,333 an ounce on the Comex in New York and was at $1,327.60.
The precious metal tumbled 21 percent this year amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may taper the stimulus program that helped bullion cap a 12-year bull run in 2012. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust increased 1.8 metric tons to 911.13 tons on Aug. 9, the first increase since June 10, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It is significant in that it’s a reversal of ideas” in the ETP market, said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin in Sydney. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust tumbled 439.69 tons this year, Bloomberg data show.
China’s jewelry sales climbed 42 percent in July from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Physical demand is rebounding after gold fell below $1,300 an ounce, Standard Bank Group Ltd. said in a report Aug. 7.
Silver for immediate delivery jumped as much as 2.3 percent to $21.0215 an ounce, the highest price since June 20, before trading at $20.8020. The metal advanced 3.3 percent last week, the biggest gain since the period to July 12.
Platinum climbed 0.7 percent to $1,508.65 an ounce, the highest price since June 11. The climb extended last week’s 3.6 percent advance, the fifth straight weekly increase that’s the best run since February 2012.
Palladium increased as much as 0.6 percent to $746.20 an ounce, the highest level since July 29, and was at $743.95.

Source: Bloomberg
Source:BullionBulletin