May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a third straight week on speculation that higher energy costs will boost demand for the precious metal as an inflation hedge.

Seventeen of 32 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago on May 15 and May 16 advised buying gold, which rose 1.6 percent to $889.90 an ounce last week in New York. Three said to sell, and 12 were neutral.

Crude-oil futures surged to a record $127.82 a barrel on May 16. Gold rallied 31 percent last year, when a 57 percent surge in oil helped spark the biggest gain in consumer prices in 17 years. Gold reached a record $1,033.90 on March 17.

A majority of analysts surveyed May 8 and May 9 anticipated gold's gains last week. The survey has forecast prices accurately in 129 of 211 weeks, or 61 percent of the time.

This week's survey results: Bullish: 17 Bearish: 3 Neutral: 12

To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 18, 2008 14:00 EDT