Gold traded little changed as the dollar’s strength sapped demand for an alternative investment, countering optimism that demand will remain robust in China, which reported better-than-expected trade data for last month. Spot gold was at $1,657.05 an ounce at 11:04 a.m. in Singapore from $1,657.75 yesterday. The metal earlier slipped 0.2 percent. Gold for February delivery added 0.1 percent to $1,656.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York, after declining 0.4 percent yesterday. The Dollar Index advanced for a third day. Gold has retreated 1.1 percent since the beginning of the year as the six-currency gauge climbed 1.1 percent. Against the dollar, the yen neared a 2 1/2 year-low as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa to double the central bank’s inflation goal, while the euro was lower for a third day before the European Central Bank meets today. “Gold continues to trade in a tight range as lower prices tend to attract buyers, while no one’s chasing the rallies,� said Huang Fulong, an analyst at CITICS Futures Co., a unit of China’s largest listed brokerage. “The dollar and global economic backdrop continue to influence the direction of gold. A recovery in China should see more physical purchases ahead of the Lunar New Year.� The Dollar Index gained to the highest level since November on Jan. 4 after the Federal Reserve released minutes that showed policy makers debated an end to bond purchases this year. Gold’s 12-year bull market is over as the U.S. recovery deepens, according to Rene Hochreiter, chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based Allan Hochreiter (Pty) Ltd. Net Imports China’s exports rose 14.1 percent last month, almost triple the 5 percent gain predicted in a Bloomberg survey, a report showed today. Data this week showed China’s net imports of gold rose to a seven-month high in November, while volumes traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the country’s largest cash bullion bourse, jumped. Demand in the country typically picks up before Christmas and lasts through the Lunar New Year in February. Cash silver was little changed at $30.3525 an ounce. Holdings in exchange-traded products climbed to an all-time high of 19,043.07 metric tons yesterday. Spot platinum fell 0.1 percent to $1,597.25 an ounce. Palladium rose for a third day, gaining 0.6 percent to $691.25 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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