Gold resumed gains in New York on speculation steps to support growth through quantitative easing and low interest rates will boost demand for precious metals as an alternative to some currencies. The Federal Reserve is likely to announce tomorrow a plan to purchase at least $500 billion of long-term securities to spur growth, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Gold traded in Australian dollars fell after the central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates. “Rising interest rates should be bad for gold but they’re not perceived to be widespread enough to impact the gold price,” said Jonathan Spall, product manager for precious metals at Barclays Capital in London. “A number of people are now saying quantitative easing in many countries will never end.” Gold futures for December delivery climbed $7, or 0.5 percent, to $1,357.60 an ounce at 8:29 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Spot prices rose 0.3 percent to $1,358.15 an ounce. Prices fell yesterday. Australia raised its overnight lending rate to 4.75 percent, ending a five-month pause. Gold traded in Australian dollars dropped 1.1 percent. India’s central bank raised interest rates for the sixth time this year. The U.S. central bank has kept its target interest rate at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008, making gold more competitive against stocks that pay dividends and bonds that pay interest. Gold doesn’t pay dividends or interest and has added costs for storage and insurance. Silver futures for December delivery rose 33.8 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $24.89 an ounce on the Comex. Platinum for January delivery climbed $10.50, or 0.6 percent, to $1,722 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange and palladium for December delivery advanced $5, or 0.8 percent, to $653.70 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net; Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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