Gold advanced for a third day as European sovereign-debt concerns increased demand for the precious metal as an investment haven, with holdings in exchange-traded products climbing to an all-time high. Immediate-delivery bullion rose 0.2 percent to $1,387.28 an ounce at 1:12 p.m. in Melbourne. The price gained as much as 0.9 percent yesterday after dropping 0.8 percent last week. The February-delivery contract was little changed at $1,388 an ounce on the Comex in New York. “The market is finding a reason to look to gold at the moment, but it is clearly not pushing too high,” said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. “ “People are finding it very difficult to sell gold while the ETF balances are strong and they are continuing to rise.” Gold assets in exchange-traded products, or ETPs, reached a record 2,114.6 metric tons as of yesterday, according to data collected by Bloomberg from 10 providers. Holdings have gained 18 percent this year. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan pledged “concrete action” to help the European Union with its debt problems at an EU-China summit in Beijing today. Moody’s Investors Service lowered Ireland’s credit rating by five levels to Baa1 on Dec. 17, the day after it placed Greece on review for a possible downgrade. The euro rose to $1.3167 as of 10:21 a.m. in Tokyo after yesterday dropping to a two-week low against the dollar on speculation that some European nations and banks will struggle to raise funds amid the region’s debt crisis. Immediate-delivery gold has gained 26 percent this year, set for a 10th annual gain, as the debt crisis in Europe and so- called quantitative easing in the U.S. hurt currencies and aided demand. The price reached a record $1,431.25 an ounce on Dec. 7. Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $29.3675 an ounce. Silver holdings in ETPs fell 0.7 percent to 15,073.22 tons as of yesterday. Spot palladium rose 0.4 percent to $745.50 an ounce, and immediate-delivery platinum was also little changed at $1,712.75 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Pugh in Melbourne at wpugh@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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