By Nicholas Larkin Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell for the first time in four days in London as some investors sold the metal to lock in gains from its rally to the highest in almost two months. Bullion for immediate delivery reached $962.51 an ounce yesterday, the highest since June 10, as the U.S. Dollar Index slipped to its lowest level since September, boosting the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. The index, a six- currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, was little changed today after a three-day drop. “The metal is trading lower on further profit-taking,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a note. Gold “is likely to struggle to push significantly above $965, as scrap flows are expected to pick up, and will be reliant on a weak dollar to fuel further gains.” Immediate-delivery bullion lost as much as $5.42, or 0.6 percent, to $951.38 an ounce and traded at $953.85 by 11:22 a.m. in London. December gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $956 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The metal slipped to $953.50 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $959.75 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Spot prices, which reached a record $1,032.70 an ounce in March 2008, have gained the past three weeks. ‘Too High’ The metal added 3 percent last month as the dollar index lost 2.2 percent. Gold typically moves inversely to the U.S. currency. The MSCI World Index of shares declined as much as 0.3 percent today after earlier touching a 10-month high. Gold’s price is “too high” given weak physical demand, firming equities and low inflation and may undergo a correction, Eugen Weinberg and other analysts with Commerzbank AG wrote in a note yesterday. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, was unchanged at 1,072.9 metric tons yesterday, the company’s Web site showed. The fund reached a record 1,134.03 tons on June 1. “If gold does break through $960 an ounce, the next resistance will be $981,” brokerage firm GoldCore Ltd. in Dublin said today in a note. “Failing that, we will revert to the current range of $905 to $960 an ounce.” Silver for immediate delivery in London fell from a seven- week high, losing 0.7 percent to $14.16 an ounce. Platinum slid 0.5 percent to $1,230.70 an ounce after yesterday climbing to the highest since June 15. Palladium dropped 0.4 percent to $271.35 an ounce after rising to $275, matching yesterday’s 11- month high. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net

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