Gold may gain for a fourth straight week as rising oil prices renewed the appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

Twenty-two of the 42 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News from Sydney to Chicago on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 advised buying gold, which rose 2.3 percent last week to $650.70 an ounce in New York. Twelve respondents said to sell, and eight were neutral.

Gold touched a five-month high last week as oil jumped 6.6 percent, its biggest advance in two months. Demand for StreetTracks Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund that is linked to the price of gold, has risen 45 percent in the past year. The fund has 146 million shares outstanding, each representing a 10th of an ounce of gold.

``The upward pressure on gold prices seems likely to stay in place,'' said Chris Yoo, manager at Samsung Futures Inc.'s global commodities team in Seoul. ``Investment demand for gold is continuing to rise on gold ETFs and demand for oil is also rising as prices are viewed as low,'' said Yoo, who expects gold to rise as high as $660 this week.

Gold rose $14.60 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange last week, touching $661.20, the highest since Aug. 10. The gain was expected by the majority of analysts surveyed on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19. Respondents have forecast prices accurately in 87 of 144 weeks, or 60 percent of the time.

Inflation Hedge

Some investors buy gold to preserve purchasing power in times of accelerating inflation. Gold futures surged to $873 in 1980, when a jump in the cost of oil led to a 13 percent annual rise in U.S. consumer prices.

``Gold demand will stay firm due to buying interest by investors for an inflation hedge,'' said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst of Interes Capital Management in Tokyo.

Newmont Mining Corp., the world's second-biggest gold producer, raised its estimate of production costs three times last year, partly because of high-priced energy. The company July said it would spend $290 to $310 to mine an ounce of gold in 2006, up from an April estimate of $280 to $295 and a February forecast of $283. In 2005, the average was $236.

``We will see cost increases'' this year, Chief Executive Officer Wayne Murdy said Jan. 26 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``We have seen our energy costs go up dramatically over the last several years.''