By Claudia Carpenter May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Palladium fell to a three-week low, and platinum its lowest in four weeks, on speculation investors will favor gold as an alternative to currencies. Palladium assets in exchange-traded products of ETF Securities Ltd. in Zurich and London fell 4.8 percent last week while they climbed 1.2 percent for gold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Palladium, part of the platinum-group metals, has climbed every month since December 2008 on prospects for demand from carmakers, who use it in auto catalysts. “The upside possibility has gone out the window,” said Rory McVeigh, a trader at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “For the time being, people are moving away from the platinum-group metals and a little bit toward gold.” Palladium for immediate delivery declined as much as $18.17, or 3.5 percent, to $499.83 an ounce, the lowest price since April 8, and was at $507.50 at 1:07 p.m. London time. Platinum fell as much as $22.50, or 1.4 percent, to $1,646.50 an ounce, the lowest since April 1. Palladium dropped 9.3 percent in the past four sessions while platinum fell 4.1 percent and gold rose 0.3 percent over the same period.

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