Gold trades near 6-mth low on signs of economic improvement

London, Feb 20. Gold today traded little changed near a six-month low as investors weighed signs of economic improvement against stronger physical bullion demand, before the US central bank releases minutes of its latest meeting. The gold was little changed at USD 1,605.29 an ounce. The five-day drop through yesterday was the longest run since January 2011, and prices reached USD 1,598.23 on February 15, the lowest since August 15. However, silver gained 0.4 per cent to USD 29.57 an ounce. The Federal Reserve will publish minutes of its January 29-30 policy meeting today and Labor Department data on producer prices today and on consumer costs tomorrow will show inflation is in check. Global equities reached the highest since June 2008 today. There's "strong" physical gold-buying interest from China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said.