Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Gold climbed in Asian trade after losing as much as 0.2 percent earlier, as the dollar’s retreat boosted the precious metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. Immediate-delivery bullion traded 0.2 percent higher at $1,383.38 an ounce at 3:54 p.m. in Seoul. Gold lost 1.1 percent to $1,380.82 yesterday, the lowest close since Nov. 29, as the dollar gained. The February-delivery contract was little changed at $1,384.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The greenback lost as much as 0.1 percent against a basket of six other currencies today after rising by the most in three weeks yesterday. Gold has gained 26 percent this year, reaching a record $1,431.25 an ounce on Dec. 7. Silver for immediate delivery gained 1 percent to $29.1175 an ounce after yesterday dropping 2.3 percent, the biggest decline since Dec. 7. Cash palladium traded little changed at $751.05 an ounce and immediate-delivery platinum was nearly unchanged at $1,695.60 an ounce. --Editors: Jarrett Banks, Matthew Oakley To contact the reporter on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

Source