Gold futures advanced above $1,700 an ounce to a one-month high as concerns about Europe’s debt crisis spurred demand for the metal as a protection of wealth.

European Union talks with banks on bondholder losses as part of a second Greek rescue package are deadlocked, an EU official said on condition of anonymity. European leaders hold a summit today in a bid to reach agreement on measures to solve what U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner called the “catastrophic risk” posed by the turmoil. Gold exchange-traded product

Gold for December delivery gained as much as $25.20, or 1.5 percent, to $1,725.60 an ounce, the highest price since Sept. 23, and now at $1,720.50 on the Comex in New York.