Gold climbed on speculation dollar weakness will continue to boost demand for the precious metal as an alternative to assets denominated in the U.S. currency. Bullion touched a 14-week high yesterday as the dollar dropped to the lowest since Dec. 18 against a basket of six major currencies. “The dollar’s weakness has prompted investment funds to flock into commodities, such as oil and gold,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co., said today by phone. Gold for immediate delivery gained 0.3 percent to $977.83 an ounce at 11:30 a.m. Singapore time. It lost 0.4 percent yesterday after reaching $988.94, the highest since Feb. 24. Gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund (ETF) backed by bullion, rose to a record 1,134.03 metric tons yesterday. “Although physical demand has declined at current price levels, demand for ETFs is still strong for gold, pushing bullion prices higher,” Shigemoto said. Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $15.61 an ounce after falling as much as 0.6 percent to $15.50. The metal touched $15.965 yesterday, the highest since Aug. 8. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, platinum gained as much as 1.4 percent to $1,231 an ounce before trading at $1,226. Palladium gained 0.6 percent to $242.50 an ounce as of 10:44 a.m. Singapore time.

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