By Glenys Sim Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rallied, pacing gains in precious metals including platinum, after its biggest drop in a month lured buyers and the dollar’s rally paused. Palladium reached a 19-month high. Gold for immediate delivery increased 0.5 percent to $1,116.88 an ounce at 2:44 p.m. in Singapore after gaining as much as 0.6 percent to $1,117.49 an ounce. The metal fell 2.4 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Dec. 17, as the dollar advanced to a five-month high against the euro and equities slumped on concern China, driver of the global recovery, may curb loans and rein in stimulus. The dollar was little changed against a six-currency basket today. “Gold has been driven by dollar moves recently and hasn’t been able to play to its safe haven status as investors shift their attention onto the platinum group metals,” said Steven Zhu, head trader at Shanghai Tonglian Futures Co. “It had a good run last year and needs to consolidate those gains.” February-delivery bullion in New York was little changed at $1,116.80 an ounce. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by the metal, were unchanged yesterday after three straight days of declines. Assets stood at 1,111.92 metric tons, according to the company’s Web site. China’s growth rate in the fourth quarter accelerated to 10.7 percent from a year before, the quickest pace since 2007, the statistics bureau said today, adding pressure to restrict lending and raise borrowing costs in order to keep accelerating asset prices under control. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver added 0.8 percent to $18.015 an ounce and platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,632 an ounce. Palladium climbed as much as 1.4 percent to $475.19 an ounce, the highest price since June 23, 2008, and traded at $472.88. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net

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