By Nicholas Larkin and Glenys Sim Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, little changed in London today, may climb as a weaker dollar and the metal’s drop to a three-week low prompt investors to buy. The dollar slid as much as 0.5 percent against the euro on concern a U.S. proposal to curb financial institutions’ risk trading will deter investors from buying assets in the world’s largest economy. Bullion, which yesterday fell to the lowest price since Dec. 30, usually moves inversely to the greenback. “Yesterday we had a lot of pressure on gold, and overnight we’ve seen some physical demand,” said Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at bullion refiner MKS Finance SA in Geneva. “The physical market thinks these prices are fantastic to buy at. The dollar is also a little bit lower.” Gold for immediate delivery added $1.05, or 0.1 percent, to $1,095 an ounce at 8:57 a.m. local time. The metal is down 3.2 percent this week, headed for its biggest slide in six weeks. Bullion for February delivery was 0.8 percent lower at $1,094.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. U.S. President Barack Obama called for limiting the size and trading activities of financial institutions as a way to reduce risk-taking and prevent another financial crisis. The proposals will be part of an overhaul of regulations and would prohibit banks from running proprietary trading operations or investing in hedge funds and private-equity funds. Indian Imports Bullion may fall next week as the dollar’s strength erodes demand for the metal as an alternative investment, according to 12 of 17 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 71 percent. Four forecast higher prices and one was neutral. Gold imports by India, the biggest consumer, dropped 18 percent last year as record prices cooled demand from jewelers and spurred users to recycle more old ornaments. Purchases this year will “certainly” exceed the 343 metric tons bought in 2009, said Suresh Hundia, president of the Bombay Bullion Association Ltd. Sale of scrap may fall to between 60 tons and 100 tons, a level deemed normal, from an estimated 200 tons last year, Hundia said. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery in London, silver added 0.3 percent to $17.425 an ounce. Platinum fell 2 percent to $1,563.50 an ounce, and palladium dropped 3.9 percent to $433.50 an ounce. To contact the reporters on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net; Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net.

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