By Jae Hur Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gold declined for a third day to the lowest in more than a year as the dollar gained, eroding the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment and stocks fell, prompting investors to take money out from commodities. The dollar has gained 12 percent against the euro this year, while gold has lost 13 percent. Asian stocks slumped, sending the region's benchmark index to the lowest level in four years, as the credit crunch choked worldwide growth. Gold reached a record in March as the dollar headed to an all-time low against the euro. ``The dollar's strength has put pressure on gold prices,'' said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``People are liquidating gold and other commodities as their losses in stock markets deepen.'' Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as 1.4 percent to $719.92 an ounce, the lowest since Sept. 18, 2007, and traded at $726.86 by 11:31 a.m. in Singapore, extending yesterday's 5.3 percent drop. Silver for immediate delivery was down 1.3 percent at $9.43 an ounce after trading as low as $9.36. In Japan, gold for delivery in August 2009 fell by its 150- yen daily limit to 2,255 yen per gram ($719 an ounce) at the opening on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and ended the morning session at 2,265 yen. ``Some people, who deposited stocks for their investment on local gold futures, have been forced to liquidate as the value of their collateral tumbled,'' Kikukawa said. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional shares tumbled as much as 4.7 percent to 83.66, the lowest since May 2004. The U.S. dollar rose as much as 1 percent against the euro to $1.2728, the highest since Nov. 2006. Gold for December delivery fell 0.5 percent to $725.90 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:34 a.m. Singapore time after dipping to $720.00, matching yesterday's low, and the lowest for a most-active contract since September 2007. To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net

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