Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) — Gold, little changed in New York and London today, may gain on speculation a weaker dollar will boost the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, fell as much as 0.3 percent today. Bullion has climbed 19 percent this year as investors sought to protect their wealth from the declining dollar and as a hedge against inflation. Gold futures, heading for a ninth annual gain, reached a record $1,072 an ounce on Oct. 14. “It is still too premature to short gold,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, a VTB Capital analyst in London, said today in a report. “The dollar remains vulnerable and investor appetite for gold could re-emerge very quickly.” December gold futures added $2.60, or 0.3 percent, to $1,054.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division by 8:25 a.m. local time. The metal rose 0.3 percent last week, the eighth gain in nine weeks. Immediate-delivery bullion lost 0.1 percent to $1,053.07 in London. CME Group Inc. will allow gold to be used as collateral to back trades on its exchange as an alternative to debt or equities, according to a member notice dated Oct. 16. Gold would be the first commodity to be used as margin on CME trades, spokesman Jeremy Hughes said by phone today. LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd., Europe’s largest clearinghouse, said it’s considering adding gold for collateral. The metal gained to $1,054.50 in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $1,047.50 at the afternoon fixing on Oct. 16. Still, nine of 16 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 56 percent, said bullion would fall this week. Five forecast higher prices and two were neutral…read more at the Bloomberg

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