Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures may climb in New York as the European sovereign-debt crisis spurs demand for precious metals as a means for wealth preservation. Silver rose to a 30- year high. Gold rallied 30 percent last year, the 10th annual gain and the biggest yearly advance since 2007, reaching an all-time high $1,432.50 an ounce on Dec. 7, as Europe’s debt woes and declining currencies boosted demand. The Federal Reserve kept U.S. borrowing costs low and purchased bonds to boost growth. “I’m bullish on gold this year because it is still mainly a haven play,” Park Jong Beom, a trader at Tong Yang Futures Trading Co. in Seoul, said by phone today. “The European debt crisis remains unresolved yet, and investors continue to favor it as a safe-haven asset.” Gold futures for February delivery were down $1, or 0.1 percent, to $1,420.40 an ounce by 12:21 p.m. in London, after earlier today being down as much as 0.5 percent. Gold prices in British pounds climbed to a record today. Silver for March delivery climbed 18.3 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $31.12 an ounce and earlier today climbed to $31.17, the highest price for a most-active contract since March 1980. Precious metals advanced last year as the European Union bailed out Greece and Ireland. Holdings in exchange-traded products, or ETPs, backed by gold gained 17 percent. Silver surged 84 percent last year, the biggest gain since 1979. Palladium for Palladium for March delivery dropped 55 cents to $802.75 an ounce and platinum for April delivery gained $5.60, or 0.3 percent, to $1,783.80 an ounce. Palladium jumped 96 percent last year and platinum gained 21 percent. --Editors: Ravil Shirodkar, Richard Dobson. To contact the reporter on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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