By Dave McCombs Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo dropped for a fourth day as the dollar gained against the euro, paring demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Futures headed for an 11 percent weekly decline as the greenback's gains came on top of mounting concern that plunging auto sales would cut demand for the metal's use in exhaust filters. The U.S. currency advanced toward a 4.7 percent gain against the euro this week. ``The dollar is still calling the shots'' in precious metals markets, Manqoba Madinane, a commodity analyst at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg, wrote in a note dated yesterday. Platinum for August delivery sank 3.2 percent to 2,500 yen a gram ($810 an ounce) at the 11 a.m. break on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. The most-active contract yesterday fell to 2,439 yen a gram, the lowest since Oct. 20, 2003. Metal for immediate delivery was little changed at $809.50 an ounce at 12:20 p.m. in Tokyo, from $810.50 an ounce in New York yesterday. A strengthening dollar curbs the appeal of platinum and other precious metals as alternative investments by making them more expensive in foreign currency terms. The dollar today climbed to $1.2763 versus the euro at 12:23 p.m., Tokyo time, from $1.2934 late yesterday. To contact the reporter for this story: Dave McCombs in Tokyo at dmccombs@bloomberg.net

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