Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained in London as the dollar weakened against the euro, increasing the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. The dollar fell as much as 0.4 percent against the euro as a report showed German business confidence rose to a 12-month high this month. Bullion has climbed 15 percent in 2009, while the dollar, which yesterday slid to the lowest level in a year against the single European currency, has lost 5.4 percent. “The dollar and risk sentiment will continue to lead gold in coming sessions,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a note. The metal is “well placed to set fresh highs,” he said. Immediate-delivery bullion added $5.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,013.60 an ounce by 12:38 p.m. local time. December gold futures were 0.1 percent higher at $1,015 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The metal rose to $1,014 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $1,010.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Spot prices are trading 1.8 below a record $1,032.70 set in March 2008. The dollar also slipped after the Federal Reserve yesterday said it would keep interest rates low for an “extended period.” The central bank said it would slow its purchases of mortgage securities, seeking to avoid disrupting the U.S. housing market as an economic recovery takes hold. ‘Well Supported’ “Gold remains well supported,” Walter de Wet, a London- based Standard Bank Ltd. analyst, wrote today in a report. “The support is even more noteworthy given crude oil’s slide yesterday,” he wrote, citing “some physical buying interest on the dips.” Some investors use crude prices as an inflation guide. The fuel plunged 3.9 percent yesterday and was 0.8 percent lower at $68.29 a barrel in New York today after a U.S. government report showed a larger-than-expected gain in stockpiles. Holdings of bullion in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, were unchanged at 1,101.73 metric tons yesterday, data on the company’s Web site showed. The fund’s holdings reached a record 1,134.03 tons on June 1. Gold held in ETF Securities Ltd.’s exchange-traded products added 0.1 percent to a record 8.377 million ounces yesterday, its Web site showed. The company’s data exclude products listed in the U.S. Silver for immediate delivery in London slipped 0.2 percent to $16.80 an ounce. Platinum added 0.3 percent to $1,325 an ounce, while palladium was 0.5 percent higher at $296.20 an ounce. ETF Securities’ palladium holdings climbed 1.9 percent to an all-time high 543,204 ounces yesterday, while platinum assets increased 1.7 percent to 360,949 ounces. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net

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