Gold May Climb for Second Day After ETP Holdings Advance to All-Time High

Gold may climb for a second day as record bullion holdings in exchange-traded products signaled stronger investor demand, while Greece’s progress toward a second bailout boosted the appeal of equities and commodities.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,685.28 an ounce at 9:35 a.m. in Singapore. Bullion assets in exchange-traded products expanded to 2,407.021 metric tons yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The metal rebounded from a three-day drop yesterday after investors with about 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for a debt swap indicated they’ll participate, boosting optimism that the country will make the deadline to secure the bailout. That sent global stocks higher.

“Gold exchange-traded fund demand appears to be firm,” James Steel, an analyst at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., wrote in a report. “One possible reason for gold prices to turn lower would be a glitch in the Greek debt deal, or some other negative development related to euro-zone sovereign risk.”

Spot gold of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange climbed for the first time in four days, after declining to a one-month low yesterday. The price rose as much as 0.9 percent to 344 yuan a gram ($1,689.91 an ounce). Volumes for the benchmark cash contract were 5,219.80 kilograms yesterday, down from 5,296.80 kilograms on March 6.

Spot silver was little changed at $33.4325 an ounce after gaining 1.4 percent yesterday. Cash platinum climbed 0.4 percent to $1,637 an ounce, after earlier dropping 1.7 percent to a three-week low of $1,603.50. Palladium traded unchanged at $686.75 an ounce.