May 24 ……Gold climbed, snapping a three-day retreat, as renewed weakness in the euro revived demand for a haven and last week’s decline to the lowest level in more than two weeks boosted the metal’s allure.

Gold for immediate delivery, which slid to $1,166.30 an ounce on May 21, the lowest price since May 5, climbed as much as 0.7 percent to $1,185.05. The June-delivery contract in New York rose 0.5 percent to $1,181.60 at 9:07 a.m. in Singapore.

After the “selloff there’s some revived appetite for precious metals, including gold, as a decline in the euro reminds the market of risks linked to the region,” said Hwang Il Doo, a Seoul-based trader with KEB Futures Co. “The price declines are no more than a mere correction.”

The euro weakened against the dollar, ending a three-day gain, after European Union finance ministers pledged to stiffen sanctions imposed on high-deficit countries and ruled out setting up a mechanism to manage state defaults. The region’s debt crisis helped drive gold to a record $1,249.40 on May 14.

Gold slid 4.6 percent last week, the most since February 2009, as some investors reduced their positions as the euro advanced. The metal has strengthened 7.9 percent this year and is heading for a 10th annual gain.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators cut their net-long positions in New York gold futures in the week to May 18, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.

Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 231,670 contracts on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington- based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net- long positions fell by 4,155 contracts, or 2 percent, from a week earlier.

Silver for immediate delivery jumped as much as 1 percent to $17.8225 an ounce, and traded at $17.70. Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,507.20 an ounce, and palladium increased 0.5 percent to $439.13 an ounce.

Gold, trading little changed near a five-month high, may climb for a fourth day as sovereign debt risks in Europe and volatile currencies boost demand for the metal as a haven.

Gold for immediate delivery was at $US1181.88 an ounce in Singapore, after gaining as much as 0.2 per cent earlier in the longest rally since the five-day advance ending April 9. The metal reached $US1187.80 yesterday, the highest intraday level since December. 4.

”With Greece practically bankrupt, Portugal and Spain under close observation and Argentina with a fresh debt re- scheduling, investors”’ striving for a safe haven is understandable, Oliver Heuschuch, sales and marketing manager at Heraeus Metallhandels, said in an e-mail. ”For the moment, gold cannot do much wrong.”

Gold priced in euros, sterling and Swiss francs climbed to records yesterday as investors sought a hedge against declining currencies. The euro fell yesterday for the first time in four days against the dollar as investors doubted the 110 billion euro ($US146 billion) bailout package will ease Greece’s government debt crisis.

Euro-region finance ministers approved the bailout for Greece on May 2, while refusing to say how they would help other indebted nations if the need arose, calling Greece a ‘’special case.” Bullion rose 1.9 per cent last week on concern that Greece’s debt woes will spread to Portugal and Spain.

Argentina’s government yesterday opened an offer to exchange about $US20 billion in defaulted bonds held out of a 2005 swap. Economy Minister Amado Boudou said there was a ”quite good reaction” from investors whom he met.

‘Demand from investors’

”If news from Athens, Lisbon, Madrid is bad, the yellow metal profits from demand from investors who want to secure part of their assets,” said Heuschuch. ”If however, for a change, good news comes from these capital cities, the euro benefits and gold gets bought as a hedge against a falling US dollar.”

Platinum for immediate delivery climbed 0.2 per cent to $US1726.50 an ounce after dropping as much as 1 per cent yesterday as the dollar rose and April sales by carmakers including General Motors and Ford missed analysts’ estimates.

Silver was little changed at $US18.805 an ounce after rising as much as 1.2 per cent to $US18.865 an ounce yesterday, its highest price since January 11. Palladium rose 0.2 per cent to $US542.38 an ounce after falling 1.3 per cent yesterday.