Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures rose in New York on speculation the dollar will extend a slide, increasing the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment.

The greenback fell as much as 0.4 percent against a basket of six major currencies. Signs that the global economy is recovering reduced demand for the dollar as a haven. Gold, which typically moves inversely to the U.S. currency, climbed to a record $1,072 an ounce on Oct. 14.

“We are long gold,” Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter said in a report. “The trend is up, and consolidations are merely resting points before new and higher highs are made.”

Gold futures for December delivery rose $2.20, or 0.2 percent, to $1,058.60 an ounce at 9:52 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The metal had gained for four straight weeks, while the dollar dropped three consecutive weeks against the currency basket.

“A lot of people are looking at the performance of the dollar,” said Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at bullion refiner MKS Finance SA in Geneva. “Traders are likely to buy on dips.”

Silver futures for December delivery were little changed at $17.71 an ounce. Platinum for January delivery dropped $2.20, or 0.2 percent, to $1,367.30 an ounce on the Nymex, and palladium for December delivery declined $1.90, or 0.6 percent, to $337.55 an ounce.

Before today, gold gained 19 percent in 2009, and the dollar dropped 7.2 percent. Silver jumped 57 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 26, 2009 09:54 EDT