Gold Futures Advance as Global Stimulus Boosts Investor Demand

Gold climbed for the third time this week on signs that increasing global stimulus measures will boost investor demand for a hedge against inflation.

The European Central Bank stands ready to activate its bond-purchase program if governments fulfill necessary conditions, ECB President Mario Draghi said today. President Barack Obama, elected for a second term this week, faces a so-called fiscal cliff of $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts to start in January unless Congress acts.

“I’m still bullish on gold, because we’re most likely going to have quantitative easing for a while,” Fred Schoenstein, a trader at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said in a telephone interview. “That’s on the minds of traders with Obama coming back in.”

Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.7 percent to settle at $1,726 an ounce at 1:38 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices have jumped 10 percent this year.

The Federal Reserve has pledged to keep buying $40 billion of mortgage debt a month in its third bid to reduce joblessness.

Silver futures for December delivery advanced 1.8 percent to $32.24 an ounce in New York.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for January delivery increased 0.2 percent to $1,542.50 an ounce, while palladium futures for December delivery added 0.7 percent to $614.35 an ounce.