Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Gold declined for the first time in three days in New York as the Federal Reserve refrained from making additional government bond purchases, curbing demand for the metal as a protection of wealth. The dollar was little changed against the euro before data forecast to show growth in U.S. industrial production, backing Fed comments that the world’s largest economy is recovering. The central bank yesterday maintained a $600 billion program of debt purchasing. The dollar gained as much as 0.7 percent against the euro earlier today. Gold futures set a record $1,432.50 an ounce on Dec. 7. The Fed “did not increase the volume of Treasury buying,” Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said today in a report. “This could weigh on the price of gold in the short term. One of the reasons for the price decrease is the stronger U.S. dollar again since yesterday.” Gold futures for February delivery lost $9.80, or 0.7 percent, to $1,394.50 an ounce at 8:02 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal for immediate delivery in London was 0.2 percent lower at $1,394.05. Gold gained 27 percent this year, set for a 10th annual gain, as investors lost confidence in currencies and bought precious metals as a protection of wealth. European Union leaders will meet this week amid discord about how to stem a debt crisis that’s caused Greece and Ireland to accept bailouts. The dollar strengthened after Moody’s Investors Service said Spain’s debt rating is on review for a possible downgrade. U.S. Growth ‘Insufficient’ Further government bond purchases by the Fed are “certainly possible,” Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in an interview broadcast on CBS Corp.’s “60 Minutes” on Dec. 5. The Fed yesterday said that growth is “insufficient to bring down unemployment.” U.S. factory production rose 0.3 percent in November, according to the median estimate of 78 economists in a Bloomberg News survey before the Fed releases the data today. U.S. retail sales increased 0.8 percent last month, the Commerce Department said yesterday. “Expectations that the U.S. economy will improve are probably growing after retail sales rose and following the Fed meeting,” said Hwang Il Doo, a senior trader at Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. in Seoul. “That is weighing on gold.” Gold assets in exchange-traded products fell 4.83 metric tons to 2,091.56 tons yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from 10 providers. Holdings reached a record 2,104.65 tons on Oct. 14. Silver holdings gained 73.08 tons to 15,163.25 tons, the highest amount since at least February, data from four providers show. Silver for March delivery in New York fell 1.6 percent to $29.30 an ounce. It rose to $30.75 on Dec. 7, the highest level since March 1980, and is up 74 percent this year. Prices reached an all-time high of $50.35 in New York in 1980, a year after the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market. Palladium for March delivery dropped 2.2 percent to $751.25 an ounce. It climbed to $780 on Dec. 3, the highest price since April 2001. Platinum for January delivery was 0.8 percent lower at $1,701 an ounce. --Editors: John Deane, Nicholas Larkin To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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