Market and product

Gold rose to the highest level in aweek as China’s inflation cooled and before a report that mayshow an increase in U.S. jobless claims, boosting optimism thatcentral banks may take steps to bolster the global economy.

Gold for immediate delivery gained as much as 0.4 percentto $1,618.80 an ounce, the highest since July 31, and traded at$1,615.89 at 1:39 p.m. in Singapore. December-delivery gold roseas much as 0.3 percent to $1,620.30 on the Comex.

Consumer prices rose 1.8 percent from a year earlier, thelowest rate since January 2010, while producer prices fell 2.9percent, the fifth straight drop, said the National Bureau ofStatistics. That may encourage policy makers to introduce morestimulus measures. Weekly U.S. jobless claims rose to 370,000from 365,000, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economistsbefore the Labor Department issues the figure today.

“There is still QE thinking in the background of good prices and it won’t go away until we see the U.S. in fullrecovery mode,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at FatProphets in Sydney, referring to quantitative easing. “That’scertainly not happening at the moment.”

The Federal Reserve said Aug. 1 it will add stimulus ifnecessary to boost growth and cut an unemployment rate that hasbeen 8 percent or higher for more than three years.

Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold gained0.3 percent to 2,411.721 metric tons yesterday, the highestsince July 6, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Separate reports today showed Chinese retail sales slippedand industrial production in the world’s second-largest economygrew less 10 percent for a fourth month, a level not seen sincethe 2009 financial crisis.

Spot silver gained as much as 0.6 percent to $28.205 anounce and was at $28.1925. Platinum for immediate deliveryclimbed as much as 0.7 percent to $1,418.75 an ounce, thehighest since Aug. 3, and traded at $1,414.75. Palladium rose0.3 percent to $588.75 an ounce.