Weak data lifts gold to near six-month high

Gold, trading near a six-month high, may gain for a third day on speculation that central banks from the United State to China will add to stimulus as economic data disappoints.

The US economy added 96,000 workers last month compared with 130,000 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey, adding to speculation that the Federal Reserve might announce more measures this week. Reports on Sunday showed China's industrial output grew at the slowest pace in three years, and President Hu Jintao said that economic expansion faces "notable downward pressure", signaling more stimulus efforts may be needed.

"Friday's poor payrolls report strongly raises the likelihood of the Fed announcing quantitative easing," Edel Tully, an analyst at UBS AG, said in a report on Monday, raising the bank's one-month gold forecast to $1,850 an ounce. "This sets the stage for the continuation of the precious metals rally."