Gold traded little changed near $900 an ounce in Asia as the dollar weakened against the euro and crude oil advanced, raising demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment and inflation hedge. Bullion earlier gained as much as 0.5 percent as the dollar fell against the euro ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement on monetary policy today. Gold tends to move in the opposite direction to the dollar as it is gets cheaper for holders of other currencies when the dollar weakens. “Moderate profit taking and investor caution following the increase in the gold price to above $900 an ounce may have tempered the gold price,” David Moore, chief commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in an e-mail. Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $899.49 an ounce at 10:39 a.m. in Singapore. Gold for February delivery was little changed at $900.80 in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 0.8 percent to 2,589 yen a gram ($904 an ounce). The dollar approached a one-week low versus the euro as the Fed may say in Washington today that it will broaden the range of assets it will purchase to unclog credit markets. The central bank will maintain the target lending rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent after its two-day meeting ends today, according to the median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Crude oil rose after U.S. stocks gained on better-than- expected company earnings that overshadowed declines in consumer confidence and home prices. Oil for March delivery climbed 1.4 percent to $42.18 a barrel at 10:38 a.m. Singapore time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver, platinum and palladium were little changed at $12.09 an ounce, $949.50 an ounce, and $191 an ounce respectively.

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