Gold above US$1,100 as top forecaster says fear driving trade

[SINGAPORE] Gold extended its rally above US$1,100 an ounce as investors seek protection from the sell-off in equities and commodities.

"Right now there is some risk-aversion in the market given all that is happening, be it the Chinese slowdown, the lower crude oil prices," Barnabas Gan, an economist at Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, said by phone.

"The markets are really trading out of fear," said Mr Gan, who's ranked by Bloomberg as the top precious-metals forecaster. He said he still expects gold to fall this year as US interest rates climb.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.3 per cent to US$1,104.02 an ounce at 3:37 pm in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. So far in 2016, bullion has advanced 4.1 per cent against an 11 per cent drop in global stocks.

Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose 2.6 metric tons to 1,514.4 tons as of Wednesday, the highest level since Nov 5, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver also rose, while palladium and platinum fell.

BLOOMBERG