By Glenys Sim Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Gold traded little changed above $800 in Asia, headed for the biggest weekly gain in nearly three months, as the dollar declined, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Bullion has gained 8.6 percent this week, the most since Sept. 19, as the dollar has fallen 3.9 percent against a weighted basket of six major currencies on speculation U.S. lawmakers will delay voting on legislation to lend the country’s automakers enough money to survive into the new year. The metal often moves in the opposite direction to the greenback. “Gold has been tracking dollar movements very closely in the past few weeks and this relationship will continue through the end of the year,” Lu Wei, an analyst at Jiangsu Holly Futures Brokerage Co., said today. Bullion for immediate delivery traded down 17 cents at $821.18 at 10:17 a.m. in Singapore, following a four-day advance. Silver was down 0.3 percent at $10.3225 an ounce. Gold for February delivery lost 0.7 percent to $821.20 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A gain in crude oil prices this week also helped gold higher. Oil for January delivery is up 15 percent this week as OPEC deliberates production cuts, and Saudi Arabia trimmed output more than estimated last month. Gold for October delivery was little changed at 2,410 yen a gram in Tokyo ($816 an ounce), and Shanghai gold for June delivery gained 1.1 percent to 180.85 yuan a gram ($822 an ounce). To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net

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