Gold heads for biggest monthly gain since last July

Preferred commodity: A worker pours gold in a mine at Obuasi, Ghana. Investor interest has returned, with hedge funds and other large speculators boosting their net-long position in gold to the highest since early January. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Gold headed for the biggest monthly advance since last July, with inflation risks in focus ahead of key US jobs data due later this week that will offer clues on the economic recovery.

Some Federal Reserve officials have said that recent price pressures are to be expected as the economy reopens amid pent-up demand, and should prove temporary as supply glitches abate.