By Kim Kyoungwha Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, little changed after closing at a record in London, may drop as some investors opt to lock in gains following the precious metal’s surge this month and as higher prices deterred physical demand in Asia. “There’s no Asian demand at all because of higher prices,” Kate Harada, a senior trader with Mitsubishi Corp., said today from Tokyo. “The current rally in precious metals is purely speculative and technically driven.” Demand for precious metals has soared this year as the prospect of rising inflation and currency debasement has spurred investors to seek to protect their wealth. Gold and silver have advanced as the Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the dollar’s value, dropped to near the lowest in almost a year. Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,016.71 an ounce at 9:28 a.m. in Singapore, after losing 0.2 percent and gaining 0.1 percent. The metal touched an intraday high of $1,020.88 yesterday, before settling at $1,017.30. The record price is $1,032.70 an ounce, reached 17 March, 2008. ETF Securities Ltd.’s gold holdings in its exchange-traded commodities fund are at a record 8.272 million ounces, the company said yesterday in a statement. Its Web site showed the company held 8.217 million ounces of bullion on Sept. 11. Gold for December delivery traded at $1,017.30 an ounce at 9:16 a.m. in Singapore after falling 0.3 percent. That’s 1.6 percent less than the intraday record of $1,033.90 an ounce set in March 2008. Silver for immediate delivery gained 0.2 percent to $17.43 an ounce, taking this year’s gain to 53 percent. Platinum was little changed at $1,346 an ounce and palladium traded at $298.25 an ounce.

Source