Gold heads for longest winning streak since August on PMI data

Gold futures rose for a third day in New York, heading for the longest winning streak since Aug. 27, alongside other commodites after China’s manufacturing expanded for the first time in three months.

Stocks, commodities and the U.S. dollar rose after the Chinese data and as investors awaited reports out of the U.S. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.2 in October from 49.8 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. A separate survey from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was at an eight-month high. Manufacturing in the U.S. probably expanded for a second month in October, another report may show today.

“The PMI should provide further evidence that the negative trend may be waning concerning the global industrial cycle,” said Amsterdam-based Georgette Boele, a commodities strategist at ABN Amro Group NV. The Asian data improved sentiment and supported gold, which is trading alongside risky assets, she said.

Bullion for December delivery gained 0.2 percent to $1,722.90 an ounce by 8:21 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, futures jumped to the highest level since Oct. 23. Gold for immediate delivery gained 0.1 percent to $1,722.53.

Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products expanded to a record 2,588.24 metric tons yesterday, according to data tracked by Bloomberg.

Investors will look to U.S. employment data due tomorrow, John Meyer, an analyst at at SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP in London, said in a report today.

The data may show payrolls probably rose by 125,000 workers in October, and the jobless rate increased to 7.9 percent from a three-year low of 7.8 percent reached in September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Silver for December delivery rose 0.9 percent to $32.61 an ounce, the highest since Oct. 19. Palladium for December delivery rose 0.8 percent to $614.85 an ounce, and earlier rose as much as 1.3 percent to the highest level since Oct. 23, and platinum for January delivery was little changed at $1,577.90 an ounce after advancing as much as 0.4 percent to the highest since Oct. 25.

Bloomberg News