Daily Gold Update

Source: Bloomberg

New York— Gold futures rose, capping the biggest two-day gain in almost three months, as the dollar�s rally stalled, boosting demand for precious metals as alternative investments. Silver and platinum also climbed. The greenback was down today against a basket of six major currencies. In 2009, gold climbed for the ninth consecutive year, reaching a record $1,227.50 an ounce on Dec. 3, as the dollar dropped 4.2 percent. �The dollar is a big driver of this rally,� said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. �People want exposure to the metals. You�re seeing the big funds coming back to commodities and quietly buying on the dips.� Gold futures for April delivery rose $13, or 1.2 percent, to $1,118 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, the metal jumped 2 percent, bringing the two-day gain to 3.2 percent, the most since early November.

The dollar slumped last year amid record-low interest rates and a surge in government spending to pull the economy out of recession. The metal tumbled in December and January as the greenback rebounded. Central banks may increase holdings of gold in reserves, boosting prices, said Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter. �What we are seeing is gold taking on the mantle of the second most important reservable asset as the problems within the European Union force central banks to very seriously reconsider their notion� of holding dollars first, followed by euros and the precious metal, Gartman said in a report. See full story.