Gold rises for second day as euro rebounds

Gold climbed for a second day, paring its worst monthly performance this year, as pro-bailout parties in Greece gained traction in opinion polls, boosting the euro against the dollar. Silver, platinum and palladium advanced. Spot gold gained as much as 0.5 per cent to $1,580.97 an ounce, and was at $1,579.72 in Singapore. Bullion is 5.1 per cent lower in May for its fourth monthly decline, the longest losing run since 1999, as the dollar rallied 4 per cent versus a six-currency basket including the euro. Greece's New Democracy, which supports the rescue plan negotiated with international lenders, was placed first in all six opinion polls published on May 26 as campaigning continued for the June 17 general election. This helped the euro rebound from the lowest level since July 2010 and drove Asian stocks, oil and copper higher yesterday. "Overall sentiment in financial and commodity markets remains fairly benign at present, which is likely to keep near-term investor demand for gold fairly soft," Alexandra Knight, an economist at National Australia Bank Ltd., wrote in a report yesterday.