Gold fell the most in more than a month as the dollar rebounded, reducing the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver also dropped. The dollar climbed as much as 1.6 percent against a weighted basket of six major currencies, rebounding from three straight weekly losses. Gold and other precious metals generally move in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold rose the least since 2004 last year as the dollar advanced for the first time since 2005. “This is about the dollar-gold relationship,” said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. “With the dollar up so much, gold should be down.” Gold futures for February delivery fell $30.60, or 3.5 percent, to $848.90 an ounce at 8:43 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. A close at that price would represent the biggest percentage drop for a most-active contract since Dec. 1. The metal rose 5.5 percent in 2008. Silver futures for March delivery dropped 73 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $10.76 an ounce. Platinum futures for April delivery declined $15.60, or 1.6 percent, to $931.10 an ounce on the Nymex. Palladium futures for March delivery sank $7.10, or 3.7 percent, to $185.20 an ounce.

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