By Nick Godt, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell on Tuesday as China's move to slow its growth spooked markets and lifted the dollar, while oil futures slumped on warmer-weather forecasts. A day after data showed a big jump in Chinese imports of energy and iron ore in December, the People's Bank of China lifted the reserve requirements for banks by a half point and lifted its interbank rate for the second time in a week. Read more on China's move. Gold for February delivery recently lost $5.10, or 0.5%, to $1,146.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had gained 1.1% on Monday after the strong Chinese imports data and after a Federal Reserve official emphasized that U.S. interest rates are likely to stay low, pressuring the dollar. But on Tuesday, China's moves sparked concerns about global growth and sent investors toward the safe haven of the U.S. currency. The dollar index (DXY 77.13, +0.13, +0.16%) , which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.1% to 77.073 in recent trading. The precious metal and the greenback have had a strong inverse correlation: When the dollar declines in value, gold prices tend to rise. Separately, platinum futures earlier topped $1,600 an ounce, boosted by reports about strong growth in China's car market. January platinum futures recently gained $4.90, or 0.3%, to $1,593.20 an ounce in electronic trading. The metal benefited from news that 13.6 million vehicles were sold last year in China, which overtook the U.S. as the world's biggest car market. Platinum, like palladium, is used predominantly in producing catalytic converters in vehicles. "First and foremost, platinum and palladium prices have currently been boosted by the launch of the platinum and palladium ETFs in the U.S.," said analysts at Commerzbank AG in a note to clients.

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