Gold declined for a fourth day in New York as signs the U.S. economy is improving and speculation of interest-rate increases curbed demand for the metal as an alternative investment. U.S. consumers boosted spending more than forecast in February as the economy grew at a faster rate in the fourth quarter than previously estimated. Improving data has raised speculation the Federal Reserve may scale back its monetary stimulus. Gold reached a record $1,448.60 an ounce on March 24 as fighting in Libya, the Japanese nuclear crisis and concerns about European debt boosted demand for a protection of wealth. “Prices are off slightly as the prospects of a sustainable economic recovery improve,” Marc Elliott, an analyst at Fairfax IS in London, said in a report. “Every positive economic figure emerging from the U.S. increases the prospect of interest rate rises.” Gold futures for June delivery fell $5.40, or 0.4 percent, to $1,415.90 an ounce at 8 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices are down 0.4 percent this quarter after gaining the previous nine quarters. The metal for immediate delivery in London was 0.4 percent lower at $1,414.13. Bullion fell to $1,414 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell output, from $1,417 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Policy makers should review whether to curtail plans to buy $600 billion in Treasuries because of strong economic data, St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard said March 26. Bullard’s view contrasts with that of Chicago President Charles Evans, who said recent reports indicating a more sustainable economic expansion won’t alter the central bank’s plan. Rate Rise Speculation The euro was steady against the dollar amid speculation European Central Bank officials will reiterate their willingness to raise borrowing costs at their April 7 meeting. Traders are betting there is a 52 percent chance the Fed will raise U.S. interest rates from near zero at the January 2012 meeting, CME Group Inc. (CME) exchange futures show. That compares with 43 percent a week ago. “The more positive signs from the U.S. economy mean that the expectations of rate rises are starting to come back to people’s attention,” Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. in Sydney, said today by phone. Higher rates “will inevitably take some of the shine off gold, decreasing its attractiveness to investors,” he said. Libyan government troops dug in with tanks to block the advancing rebels at Sirte, Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown. That may set the stage for an escalation in the fighting, already the most violent yet seen in more than two months of popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. Radiation Levels Radiation levels that can prove fatal were detected outside reactor buildings at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant, a spokesman for the plant said yesterday. The Japanese government is prepared to expand its evacuation area around the plant damaged after an earthquake and tsunami this month should radiation levels in the atmosphere impair people’s health, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said today. Silver for May delivery in New York fell 0.9 percent to $36.74 an ounce. It reached $38.18 on March 24, the highest level since February 1980, the year futures reached a record $50.35. Prices are up 19 percent this year, heading for a ninth straight quarterly advance, the best run of gains since at least 1975. Palladium for June delivery was down 0.4 percent at $742.45 an ounce, taking its quarterly loss to 7.6 percent. Platinum for July delivery declined 0.3 percent to $1,746.40 an ounce. Prices are down 1.8 percent this quarter. -- With assistance from Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore. Editor: John Deane To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Jason Scott in Perth at jscott14@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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