Gold advances for third day

Gold advanced for a third day after Asian stocks rose ahead of the release of data that is expected to point to a recovery in global economies.

Bullion extended gains, taking this year’s advance to 6.9 percent, as global equities rose, increasing demand for physical assets. Reports today will probably show leading U.S. economic indicators improved for a fourth month and Taiwan’s economic contraction slowed in the second quarter, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

“Gold is closely following stocks these days,” said Kim Kang Nam, a trader with Tongyang Futures Co. in Seoul. “A bunch of data coming due may show the global recovery is on track, providing more fuel to the stock market.”

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent to $945.53 an ounce and traded at $943.13 at 12:45 p.m. in Singapore. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares rose 1 percent the same time.

Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver climbed 0.9 percent at $13.95 an ounce, platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,244.25 an ounce as did palladium to $273.50.

Source: Bloomberg