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Bloomberg

Gold was little changed near the lowest in four years, set for a weekly drop, as the dollar headed for its biggest weekly gain in more than 16 months. Silver traded near the lowest since 2010.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, held near the highest level in more than five years before a monthly U.S. jobs report, curbing demand for bullion as an alternative investment.

Bullion prices have fallen as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates, while central banks in Europe and Japan ease monetary policy to boost growth. Rising rates cuts gold’s allure because bullion generally offers investors returns only through price gains, while a stronger dollar typically curbs demand for a store of value. Data today may show U.S. employers added 235,000 jobs in October, according to a Bloomberg survey.

“A strong report will further consolidate the strong trend in the dollar,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said today in an e-mailed report. “With increasingly negative sentiment in the gold market it is difficult to find any pockets of optimism.”

Gold for immediate delivery was 0.4 percent higher at $1,146.03 an ounce at 10:54 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Earlier today it dropped to $1,132.16, the lowest price since April 2010. Bullion slid 2.3 percent this week.

Trading Volumes

Gold for December delivery was 0.1 percent higher at $1,144.30 on the Comex in New York, after earlier reaching $1,130.40. Futures trading volumes were double the average for the past 100 days for this time of day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The dollar index was little changed, set for a weekly advance of 1.5 percent, the most since the period ended June 21, 2013.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold-backed ETP, contracted to 732.83 tons yesterday, shrinking for a third day to the lowest level since September 2008.

Thirteen out of 23 market participants surveyed by Bloomberg expected lower gold prices next week. Goldman Sachs forecasts a drop to $1,050 by year-end.

Gold’s 14-day relative-strength index has held for six consecutive sessions below 30, a level that suggests to some traders who study technical charts that prices may be poised to rebound. The gauge was at 22.9 today.

Mint Sales

Physical investors in the U.S. have taken advantage of lower prices. The U.S. Mint sold 30,500 ounces of gold coins this month, about half the average monthly total since August. October sales were the most since January. The Mint ran out of American Eagle silver coins after selling 1.26 million ounces since the start of the month, a spokesman said in a Nov. 5 e- mail.

Silver for immediate delivery slumped as much as 2.3 percent to $15.0681 an ounce, the lowest since February 2010, before trading at $15.4422. It fell 4.4 percent this week.

Platinum fell as much as 0.7 percent to $1,186.88 an ounce, the lowest since July 2009, and last traded at $1,197.43, still headed for a 3.2 percent retreat this week. Palladium rose 0.6 percent to $755.47 an ounce, set for a weekly loss of 4.7 percent.