Gold near two-month high, may increase

London: Gold, little changed near a two- month high in London, may gain on speculation that an economic slowdown will increase demand for the precious metal as a protection of wealth.

US employment probably cooled in August, economists expected a report to show yesterday. Gold is heading for a fifth weekly advance and is trading 1 per cent below a record.

Global gold holdings in exchange-traded products yesterday fell for the first time since August 24.

"The market is still very concerned about the US economy," said Bernard Sin, the head of currency and metal trading at bullion-refiner MKS Finance SA in Geneva. "There could be some gradual profit-taking, but any sell-off would be an opportunity to buy bac" into the market, he said.

Immediate-delivery bullion added $1.28 (Dh4.7), or 0.1 per cent, to $1,252.23 an ounce at 9:22a.m. in London. Prices are up 1.1 per cent this week and reached a two-month high of $1,254.73 an ounce on September 1. Gold for December delivery was little changed at $1,253.90 on the Comex in New York.

Record

Bullion has climbed 14 per cent this year, reaching a record $1,265.30 on June 21. The price is set for a 10th annual gain as investors seek to protect their wealth against financial turmoil in Europe and the prospect of slowing economic growth. Thirteen of 18 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 72 per cent, said the metal will gain next week.

US employers eliminated 105,000 positions in August, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 per cent last month from 9.5 per cent in July, economists expect the Labour Department report due at 8:30a.m. New York time to show.