Gold extends gains as Brexit spurs safe-haven draw

By Vijaykumar Vedala

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold climbed on Monday, trading near a more than two-year peak reached in the previous session, as investors sought refuge in the safe-haven amid economic and political uncertainty after Britain voted to exit the European Union.

Bullion surged 4.8 percent on Friday, its biggest single-day gain since January 2009, as the British exit, or Brexit, forced a selloff in risky assets from industrial commodities to stocks and sterling. The pound and Asian stocks continued to reel on Monday.

Finance minister George Osborne said Britain's vote to leave the bloc was likely to lead to further volatility on financial markets but said the economy was about as strong as it could be to cope with the challenge ahead.

Spot gold rose as much as 1.5 percent to $1,335.30 an ounce and was trading at $1,326.61 by 0645 GMT, up 0.9 percent. The metal rallied as much as 8 percent on Friday to peak at $1,358.20, the highest since March 2014.

U.S. gold for August delivery was up 0.7 percent at $1,331.10 an ounce.

"In the next week or two, we think gold could push towards $1,400," said ANZ commodity strategist Daniel Hynes, adding that a weak U.S. dollar and a dovish Federal Reserve would also support bullion.

The referendum verdict likely means the Fed's ambitions for two rate rises this year have been placed on hold, analysts and experts say.

HSBC said it believes "gold may reach $1,400 an ounce on a 'safe-haven' bid generated by the UK vote". "It is even possible that gold may trade higher longer term if the UK vote creates wider EU concerns."

Goldman Sachs too has raised its gold price forecasts saying Brexit suggested a more sustainable impact on the trajectory of U.S. interest rates.

According to Macquarie Research: "Gold price will go higher in the third quarter as the full ramifications of Brexit begin to be felt but expect it to fall back in fourth quarter after the U.S. election and as the Fed gets ready to hike again." It increased its third-quarter forecast to $1,350.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 2 percent to 934.31 tonnes on Friday, the highest since July 2013.

Spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $17.78 per ounce, after hitting its highest since January 2015 on Friday.

Platinum rose 0.6 percent to $986.15 an ounce and palladium was up 0.7 percent at $550.65

(Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Himani Sarkar)