By Stuart Wallace and Glenys Sim Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose in New York and London as last month’s decline, the biggest in more than a year, spurred demand. Platinum climbed to the highest price since August 2008. New York gold futures fell 7.3 percent in December, the most since October 2008, paring the annual advance to 24 percent. The metal gained for a ninth year as investors sought to hedge against a weaker dollar by buying gold. The U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the U.S. currency against six counterparts, had its biggest climb in 11 months in December. Bullion and the greenback usually move inversely. The metal “looks set to track the dollar in coming sessions,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, wrote in a report today. “Dips are likely to draw further bargain-hunter support.” Gold for delivery in February climbed $10, or 0.9 percent, to $1,128.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit at 8:37 a.m. local time. Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 1 percent to $1,128.62 an ounce. Bullion climbed to $1,125 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $1,123.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Prices gained last year as the Federal Reserve held interest rates near zero to revive the U.S. economy, weighing on the dollar. Interest Rates “Precious metals become more attractive in an environment of falling interest rates,” Stefan Graber, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote in a note today. “Yields reached very low levels in 2009, and if they turn higher, we could see renewed profit-taking in precious metals, particularly for gold and silver.” Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by the metal, were unchanged at 1,128.75 metric tons yesterday. Gold assets in exchange-traded products of ETF Securities Ltd. fell 0.1 percent yesterday to 7.8 million ounces, according to data from the company. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery in London, silver rose 0.9 percent to $17.945 an ounce and palladium gained 0.8 percent to $424 an ounce. Platinum rose as much as $19.75, or 1.3 percent, to $1,549.25 an ounce, the highest since Aug. 11, 2008. The metal was last up 0.8 percent at $1,541.75. Platinum and palladium are used in automotive pollution- control gear and may benefit from economic expansion. Industrywide sales of cars in the U.S. climbed 15 percent in December, capping automakers’ first quarterly improvement since the last three months of 2006. To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Wallace in London at swallace6@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net

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