Gold gains as price slump seen increasing demand

London, Feb 19 (Bloomberg) Gold gained for the first time in a week on speculation that prices near a six-month low will increase purchases. Gold added 0.1 per cent to 1,611.87 dollar an ounce. Prices reached 1,598.23 dollar on February 15, the lowest since August 15. Silver also rose 0.4 per cent to 30.005 dollar an ounce. It reached a six-week low of 29.69 dollar on February 15. Gold is down 3.8 per cent this year and global equities are up 4.8 per cent as speculation grew that economies are improving. About 1.2 trillion dollar in automatic spending cuts stemming from a 2011 agreement are scheduled to take effect in the U.S. In March. Morgan Stanley said in a report it expects "bargain hunting" in gold this week. U.S. Markets were shut yesterday for the Presidents' Day holiday. (Bloomberg) RS KPS KSR 02191715 NNNN