Gold rose as a weaker dollar and a decline in U.S. equities boosted demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset. U.S. stocks retreated, halting a four-session advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after a report showed companies added fewer jobs than forecast last month. The dollar fell as much as 0.4 percent against a basket of six major currencies, touching a three-week low. Gold fell 1.3 percent last month after reaching a record $1,577.40 an ounce on May 2. “The dollar is starting to weaken again,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. “Stocks are selling off, and there’s a flight to quality into gold.” Gold futures for August delivery rose $7.90, or 0.5 percent, to $1,544.70 at 11:02 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Before today, the metal gained 26 percent in the past 12 months. To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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