Gold may gain as physical purchases increase and as investors buy the metal as a means of protecting wealth, a survey found.

Twelve of 27 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 44 percent, said bullion will rise next week. Seven forecast lower prices and eight were neutral. Gold for delivery in August was up 0.8 percent for this week at $1,197.40 an ounce at 4:30 p.m. yesterday on the Comex in New York.

The metal has dropped 5.5 percent since climbing to a record $1,266.50 on June 21. Stress-test results on European banks may be released today as regulators determine whether banks can survive potential losses on sovereign-debt holdings. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said this week that the economic outlook remains “unusually uncertain.”

The “bullish longer-term uptrend is still intact and prices are supported by physical buyers,” said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. “Gold also serves the principal motive of long-term wealth preservation.”

The red bars on the attached chart are derived by subtracting bearish forecasts from bullish estimates, with readings below zero signaling that most respondents expect a decline. The green line shows the gold price. The data shown are as of July 16.

The weekly gold survey that started six years ago has forecast prices accurately in 183 of 320 weeks, or 57 percent of the time.

This week’s survey results: Bullish: 12 Bearish: 7 Neutral: 8

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-22/gold-set-to-advance-on-sustained-physical-investment-demand-survey-shows.html