Gold fluctuates amid looming US government shutdown, ETP sales

London, Sept 30. Gold today swung between gains and losses as a potential U.S. government shutdown threatened to boost demand for haven assets even, while investors sold the metal from exchange-traded products. Gold was little changed at USD 1,336.34 an ounce, after earlier climbing to USD 1,354.35, the highest since September 20. Prices are 8.2 per cent higher in the three months ending today, the first quarterly increase since the period to September 2012. Silver fell 0.2 per cent to USD 21.73 an ounce, 11 per cent higher this quarter and heading for the first three-month gain since September 2012. The US government faces its first partial shutdown in 17 years at midnight tonight, potentially furloughing 800,000 federal workers and cutting economic growth by as much as 1.4 percentage points, depending on the duration, according to economists. Holdings in exchange traded funds backed by bullion slumped on September 27 to the lowest since May 2010, and gold is heading for its first annual loss since 2000 as some investors lost faith in the precious metal as a store of wealth.