Gold prices were trading nearly unchanged in Asian trading on Monday, but is likely to extend last week’s rally, as investors continue to flock to the safety of bullion amid persistent uncertainty over the eurozone sovereign debt issues and health of the US economy. Spot gold stood at US$1,412.07 an ounce at 10:54 a.m. Seoul time after rising to US$1,416.55 in the previous session, the highest level since Nov. 11. The metal climbed 3.7% last week, the second straight weekly gain. The February-delivery contract climbed as much as 0.8% to US$1,416.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The contract rose by nearly US$17 on Friday to end at US$1,406.20, just short of a fresh closing record. The record close for a front-month contract was US$1,410.10 seen in early November. Gold may climb after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that the central bank may buy more bonds, boosting demand for precious metals as alternative assets. US unemployment may take five years to fall to a normal level and Fed purchases of Treasury securities beyond the US$600bn announced last month are possible, Bernanke said in an interview to CBS. The dollar rebounded on Bernanke’s remarks that the central bank might add to its QE2 amount of US$600bn and that a return to a recession doesn’t seem likely. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 79.47 after touching a high of 79.55 and a low of 79.16. The index, which tracks the greenback against its six major rivals, dropped by the most in six weeks on Dec. 3 after a US government report showed that American employers added fewer jobs than forecast in November and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%. Spot silver rose 0.8% to US$29.6437 an ounce, the highest price since March 1980. The metal is up 75% this year, outperforming gold’s 29% gain. Palladium climbed 0.2% to US$770.25 an ounce and platinum increased 0.3% to US$1,732 an ounce.

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