By Pham-Duy Nguyen Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rebounded from the biggest weekly loss in a month after China’s decision to refrain from raising borrowing costs boosted demand for the precious metal. Silver and palladium also climbed. Last week, commodities dropped on bets that China would increase interest rates over the weekend, damping consumption of raw materials. Before today, gold rose 26 percent this year, reaching a record $1,432.50 an ounce on Dec. 7. Copper jumped to a record in London. “The world was pricing in an interest-rate hike, and it didn’t happen, so the industrial metals are pulling gold higher,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago. Gold futures for February delivery rose $11.50, or 0.8 percent, to $1,396.40 at 9:33 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Last week, the price dropped 1.5 percent. The metal is headed for a 10th straight annual gain. The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at zero percent to 0.25 percent for two years to stimulate the economy. India is the world’s biggest gold buyer, followed by China. The metal will climb to $1,690 next year and peak in 2012, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said today in a report. “At current price levels, gold remains a compelling trade, but not a long-term investment,” Goldman said. “We expect that as U.S. real rates begin to rise in 2011, the cycle will turn, and gold prices will begin to move lower.” Silver futures for March delivery rose $1.065, or 3.7 percent, to $29.67 an ounce. On Dec. 7, the metal reached $30.75, the highest since March 1980. Before today, the price gained 70 percent this year. Palladium, Platinum Palladium futures for March delivery gained $31.30, or 4.3 percent, to $764 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Before today, the metal surged 79 percent this year. Platinum futures for January delivery rose $25.40, or 1.5 percent, to $1,700.70 an ounce. Before today, the price climbed 14 percent in 2010. On the London Metal Exchange, copper rose to an all-time high of $9,225 a metric ton. Aluminum, lead, nickel and zinc also gained. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials headed for the biggest gain since Dec. 1. --With assistance from Nicholas Larkin in London. Editors: Patrick McKiernan, Steve Stroth To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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