Gold fell to the lowest in a week and headed for the biggest weekly drop since February on speculation a strengthening dollar and U.S. economy will curb demand for a protection of wealth. Precious metals declined. The dollar rose as much as 0.5 percent versus the euro today and U.S. equities reached a record yesterday as data showed U.S. jobless claims fell more than estimated last week. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting released April 10 showed several members were in favor of pulling back on its $85 billion monthly debt-buying program this year. Gold fell below a “crucial� support level of $1,550 an ounce today, said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London “It’s the dollar rebound,� Kryuchenkov said today by phone. “There is a lack of conviction in gold and with equities performing so well, why bother?� Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.9 percent to $1,547.45 an ounce by 10:55 a.m. in London. Prices reached $1,545.16 and are down 2.1 percent this week. Bullion for June delivery was 1.2 percent lower at $1,546 on the Comex in New York. Futures trading volume was 8 percent above the average in the past 100 days for this time of day, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Gold hasn’t closed below $1,550 in London since May. It’s down 7.6 percent this year on mounting optimism that the U.S. will help lead a global economic recovery. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold-backed exchange-traded product, fell to 1,181.4 metric tons yesterday, the least since May 2010. Cyprus Rescue Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said “everything is in place� for euro-area finance chiefs to sign off on the details of a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue package for Cyprus. He declined to comment on whether Cyprus will be required to sell gold as a condition of receiving aid. “With the Cyprus story, people are still talking about it and I don’t know why,� said Kryuchenkov. “It’s very insignificant. The official sector will remain a net buyer.� Cyprus owns 13.9 tons of gold, a hoard valued at about $692 million, according to World Gold Council data. Central banks added 534.6 tons to gold reserves last year, the most since 1964, the London-based council estimates. Silver for immediate delivery lost 1 percent to $27.3737 an ounce in London, narrowing its first weekly gain in five. Palladium fell 1.8 percent to $718.13 an ounce. Platinum was 0.9 percent lower at $1,519.20 an ounce. It’s down 1.2 percent this week, and a fifth weekly drop would be the worst run since August. To contact the reporter for this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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