Gold recovers from 6-mth low as falling price spurs demand

London, Feb 18 (Bloomberg) Gold today rebounded from the biggest weekly drop since May on speculation that the slide to a six-month low will spur purchases. Gold added 0.2 per cent to 1,613.67 dollar an ounce. Prices slid to 1,598.23 dollar on February 15, the lowest since August 15. Silver also rose 0.8 per cent to 30.03 dollar an ounce, after reaching a six-week low of 29.69 dollar on February 15. The metal dropped 3.4 per cent last week and holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products fell the most since July in the period on growing confidence that the global economy is strengthening. Billionaire investor George Soros cut his gold ETP holdings last quarter. UBS AG said in a report today that its gold flows to India, the top buyer, were above average after the sell-off, and Morgan Stanley said it expects "bargain hunting" this week. (Bloomberg) RS KPS KSR 02181822 NNNN