By Debarati Roy
Gold gained for the fourth time in five sessions as a weaker dollar increased demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.
The Bloomberg Dollar Index, a gauge against 10 major currencies, fell as much as 0.4 percent, declining for the first time in three sessions. The greeback’s rally this year, up 3.7 percent through yesterday, contributed to a 19 percent drop in gold. The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes are due tomorrow, when investors will look for clues on when it will reduce stimulus.
“The dollar is supporting the gold market,” Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “People will be looking for a clear indication from the Fed tomorrow.”
Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,370 an ounce at 9:47 a.m. on the Comex in New York, after dropping as much as 1 percent. Prices jumped 4.5 percent last week, the most since July 12.
The precious metal jumped 70 percent from the end of December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed bought more than $2 trillion in bonds to bolster the economy.
