LONDON: Gold rallied to a 12-week high as sharp falls in stock markets and other commodities prompted investors to buy the metal as a haven from risk, and as soft US data weighed on the dollar.

The dollar meanwhile hit a four-week low against the yen after data showed US retail sales recorded their largest decline in 11 months in December.

Spot gold rose to its highest since mid-October at $1,244 an ounce and was up 0.7 percent at $1,239.50 an ounce at 1445 GMT. US gold futures GCv1 for February delivery were up $5.80 an ounce at $1,240.20.

Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.3 percent at $16.94 an ounce, giving up some of the previous session’s hefty gains. Spot platinum Xwas up 0.3 percent at $1,239.15 an ounce, while spot palladium was down 2.5 percent at $791.20 an ounce.