Gold fell for the third straight day in New York as gains by the dollar eroded the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver also dropped. The dollar climbed for the fourth consecutive session against a weighted basket of six major currencies. Gold and other metals generally move in the opposite direction of the dollar. Gold’s gains last year were the smallest since 2004 as the U.S. currency advanced for the first time since 2005. “The greenback’s rally has further to run, and it is not the bounce of a cat in rigor mortis,” said Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal. Gold futures for February delivery fell $2, or 0.2 percent, to $818.70 an ounce at 9:28 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price declined 4 percent in the previous two sessions. Silver futures for March delivery dropped 19 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $10.49 an ounce. The metal slumped 24 percent in 2008, while gold gained 5.5 percent.

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