Gold Trades at Three-Week Low in Asia as Dollar Advances

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Gold declined to the lowest in more than three weeks as a rallying dollar eroded interest in the precious metal as a haven investment.

The Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against six major trading partners, advanced for a second day after Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the nation has full confidence in the U.S. currency. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, have remained unchanged at 1,132.15 metric tons since June 5, according to figures on the company’s Web site.

“The gold price tumbled lower, affected by the firmer tone of the U.S. dollar,” David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in an e-mail today.

Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.4 percent to $935.20 an ounce, the lowest since May 20, and was at $937.18 by 8:30 a.m. in Singapore.

The fundamentals of the dollar are still in “good shape” Kudrin said in a June 13 television interview. The dollar was at $1.3976 per euro from $1.4016 in New York on June 12, and was at 98.14 yen compared with 98.43 yen. Bullion, denominated in dollars, tends to decline when the dollar strengthens.

Twelve of 29 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, or 41 percent, said gold would drop this week. Eleven forecast higher prices and six were neutral.

Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver declined 1.4 percent to $14.63 an ounce, the lowest since May 27. Platinum slid 1 percent at $1,242.50 an ounce and palladium was down 1.2 percent at $250.50 an ounce as of 8:34 a.m. Singapore time.