By Kim Kyoungwha Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, little changed, may strengthen on speculation that the metal’s decline to the lowest level in more than six weeks is attracting some investors. “After a price dip below $1,100 an ounce, some investors are flocking back to the market,” said Yu Kyung Kyu, a trader on the global derivatives team with Eugene Investment & Futures Co. in Seoul. “Trading is thin in a year-end mood and the market will be volatile in case of any strong upturn in the dollar.” Gold for immediate delivery added as much as 0.4 percent to $1,097.42 an ounce and traded at $1,093.70 an ounce at 9:43 a.m. in Singapore. Gold for February delivery in New York slipped 0.2 percent to $1,094.30. Bullion, which typically moves inversely to the dollar, has dropped 7.3 percent this month as the dollar gained 4.2 percent against a basket of six major global currencies. The dollar traded near the strongest level in more than a month against the yen and a three-month high against the euro before reports this week forecast to show an increase in U.S. personal spending and home sales. “We do not believe this fall is entirely due to movements in the dollar,” Eugen Weinberg, a senior analyst with Commerzbank AG, wrote in a report. “It is more likely that speculative interest in gold has increased. We now believe the probable year-end gold price will be around $1,050.” Gold, up 24 percent this year, is headed for a ninth straight annual gain. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, increased 6.1 metric tons to 1,132.71 metric tons yesterday, its Web site showed. They climbed to a record 1,134 tons on June 1. Among other precious metals, silver was little changed at $17.0275 an ounce. Platinum and palladium were also little changed at $1,416 an ounce and $363.25 an ounce respectively. To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at kkim19@bloomberg.net

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