LONDON -- Gold fell in London as the dollar rebounded, eroding demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver fell after the biggest decline in investment holdings since January. Bullion erased a gain of as much as 0.3 percent as the dollar climbed for the first day this week against the euro. Gold and the U.S. currency usually move inversely. Crude oil was little changed, curbing demand for gold as an inflation hedge, after rising 2.1 percent Wednesday. Gold for immediate delivery fell US$2.80, or 0.2 percent, to US$1,152.55 an ounce at 12:21 p.m. local time. Prices this week touched US$1,170, the highest intraday level since Dec. 4. Bullion futures for June delivery dropped 0.5 percent to US$1,153.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold's morning “fixing,” used by some miners to sell production, rose to US$1,151.25 an ounce from US$1,153.75 for the afternoon fixing Wednesday. Silver declined 0.9 percent to US$18.291 an ounce. Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust, the biggest stock exchange product holding silver, decreased 106.74 tons Wednesday. Overall silver ETF holdings fell 107 tons Wednesday, the largest outflow since mid-January, Barclays Capital said in a report Thursday. Palladium for immediate delivery in London dropped 0.5 percent to US$544.58 an ounce and platinum fell 0.7 percent to US$1,717.25 an ounce.

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