Gold and silver prices rose for the first time in three sessions in New York as the dollar’s decline boosted the appeal of the precious metals as hedges against inflation. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rose as much as 0.8 percent with crude oil topping $60 a barrel. The dollar dropped as much as 0.8 percent against a basket of six major currencies. “A pullback in the dollar prompted some fresh gold buying,” Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal, said in a report. Gold futures for June delivery gained $6, or 0.7 percent, to $919.50 an ounce at 9:32 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped $2 in the previous two sessions. Silver futures for July delivery rose 31 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $14.22 an ounce. The price declined 0.9 percent in the previous two sessions. The dollar dropped as evidence that the worst of the global economic slump may be over increased demand for assets with more risk. Before today, silver jumped 23 percent this year, while gold climbed 3.3 percent. “Silver can still see a correction to come,” Miguel Perez-Santalla, a sales vice president at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said in an e-mail.

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