Gold advanced to the highest in almost five months after the International Monetary Fund cut forecasts for global growth.
The world economy will grow 3.5 percent in 2015, down from the 3.8 percent pace projected in October, the IMF said in its quarterly global outlook released late Monday in Washington. The IMF said slowing growth almost everywhere except the U.S. will more than offset the benefits from lower oil prices.
Bullion jumped last week by the most since July 2013 after the Swiss National Bank ended the franc’s cap against the euro and deepened negative interest rates. The European Central Bank may announce asset purchases on Jan. 22 before a Greek election three days later that’s spurred concern the country may exit the currency bloc.
“All these factors are coming together and leading to safe-haven buying in gold,” Jonathan Butler, a precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi Corp said by phone. “There’s an element of apprehension about what the ECB will come up with. No one wants to be on the wrong side of it.”
Gold for February delivery climbed 0.8 percent to $1,287 an ounce on the Comex as of 8:21 a.m. in New York. Prices touched the highest since Aug. 28 and have risen for the past seven sessions.
via Bloomberg
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