By Glenys Sim Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained in Asia as the drop by the most in nearly two months yesterday lured investors, and as a tumble in equities spurred haven buying. Platinum also rose. Bullion fell as much as 6 percent yesterday, dropping below $800 an ounce for the first time in a week as the dollar strengthened and crude oil declined, diminishing the appeal of the metal as a hedge against inflation. “It was a big drop last night, and this always brings out the bargain hunters,” Zhu Lv, research manager at Shanghai Tonglian Futures Co., said today from Shanghai. “If the entire commodities complex continues to tumble, any rally in gold will be limited.” Gold for immediate delivery added 0.8 percent to $775 an ounce at 9:45 a.m. in Singapore. Gold for February delivery was little changed at $776.10 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for October delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange slumped 4.4 percent to 2,324 yen a gram ($772 an ounce), and Shanghai gold for June delivery tumbled 4.4 percent to 169.14 yuan a gram ($765 an ounce). Platinum climbed after falling as much as 9.4 percent yesterday, and as expectations for reduced supply offset concerns about falling demand from the global automotive industry. Automakers account for more than half of global platinum consumption Immediate-delivery platinum gained 1.6 percent to $813 an ounce at 9:48 a.m. Singapore time, and October-delivery platinum in Tokyo slipped 0.8 percent to 2,463 yen a gram. ‘Reduced Output’ “Platinum prices may be supported going forward by reduced mine output in South Africa,” said James Steel, an analyst at HSBC Securities in New York. “Although it is not clear how much output may fall as a result of the layoffs, the reduction in the workforce inevitably will reduce platinum output.” Lonmin Plc, the world’s third-largest platinum producer, may cut 1,500 permanent jobs at its Limpopo mine, taking the tally of potential redundancies at its South African operations to more than 6,000. Platinum is trading at its lowest price relative to gold in about 11 years, signaling investors should buy the silver metal and sell the yellow one, according to Dresdner Bank AG. “It is a very rare event for platinum to trade this close to or below gold,” Bayram Dincer, an analyst at Dresdner in Zurich, said yesterday by telephone. “You surely have to buy platinum and sell gold. The downside risk is very limited.” Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver rose 0.9 percent to $9.365 an ounce, and palladium was little changed at $175.50 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net

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