VINACHEM

Gold rebounded to trade above $1,400an ounce as equities retreated and the dollar’s rally halted,boosting demand for the metal as a store of value. Silver,platinum and palladium increased.

Spot gold rose as much as 0.7 percent to $1,408.50 anounce, and traded at $1,405.06 at 2:12 p.m. in Singapore. Pricesdecreased 0.9 percent yesterday. Cash silver advanced 0.4percent to $22.6295 an ounce.

Gold dropped 16 percent this year as investors sold themetal from exchange-traded products at a record pace and theMSCI All-Country World Index rallied 7.8 percent. Asian stocksfell for the fourth time in five days, while the Dollar Indexlost 0.2 percent. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust declined to1,010.45 metric tons, shrinking for the first time in a week.

“The decline in the stock markets appears to be liftinggold,” said Huang Fulong, an analyst at CITICS Futures Co., aunit of China’s largest listed brokerage. “The dollar’sperformance has kept gold in a tight range. We continue to watchETF flows with interest.”

Bullion for August delivery gained 0.5 percent to $1,404.20an ounce on the Comex, after sliding 1 percent yesterday as India, the world’s biggest consumer, widened curbs on imports.The restrictions on overseas purchases by banks on a consignmentbasis will be expanded to include state-run trading companiesand others authorized to directly import gold, the Reserve Bankof India said.

Platinum climbed 0.4 percent to $1,499.50 an ounce, whilepalladium rose 0.6 percent to $755.10 an ounce. Impala PlatinumHoldings Ltd., the second-biggest producer of the metal, saidyesterday about 3,000 workers began an unauthorized strike afteran employee was dismissed from one of its South African mines.