May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gold advanced in London, heading for a third consecutive weekly gain, as rising crude-oil prices spurred demand for the metal as a hedge against inflation. Silver and platinum also climbed.

Crude oil traded in New York has jumped 37 percent this year and reached a record yesterday. Euro-region consumer prices rose 3.3 percent in April from a year earlier after jumping 3.6 percent in March, the most in almost 16 years.

``Oil is the factor everyone is watching,'' said Narayan Gopalakrishnan, a Geneva-based trader at MKS Finance, one of Switzerland's four bullion refiners.

The metal for immediate delivery climbed $1.49, or 0.2 percent, to $923.34 an ounce as of 8:58 a.m. in London.

Futures for June delivery rose $4.30, or 0.5 percent, to $922.80 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Assets in the StreetTracks Gold Trust, the largest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, rose for the first time in more than a week yesterday.

Gold held by the company advanced by 7.67 metric tons, or 1.3 percent, to 591.6 tons, according to figures on the StreetTracks Web site.

Among other metals for immediate delivery, silver climbed 9 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $18.08. Platinum rose $7.75, or 0.4 percent, to $2,170.75 an ounce and palladium jumped $3.50, or 0.8 percent, to $455.50.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Graham in London at rgraham13@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 23, 2008 04:28 EDT