Gold fell, ending a two-day rally, as gains by the dollar eroded demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Silver, palladium and platinum also declined. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against six other currencies, added as much as 0.7 percent. Gold and the dollar often move in opposite directions. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, fell for the first time in two months on March 6 after reports showed personal spending rose and a decline in factory orders slowed. “If the dollar is strengthening, that’s definitely not positive,” said Walter de Wet, head of research at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in London. “After all the data last week, to some extent people prefer to wait and see what happens.” Gold for immediate delivery dropped as much as $6.57, or 0.7 percent, to $932.78 an ounce and was at $937.15 at 10:59 a.m. local time. The metal added 3.6 percent in last week’s final two days, rebounding from an eight-session, 8.7 percent retreat. April gold futures lost $5.30, or 0.6 percent, to $937.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The dollar advanced against the yen after Japan posted its first current-account deficit in 13 years. Bullion and the dollar index both have climbed in 2009 as investors seek a haven from the world economic downturn, which has caused stock markets and banks to collapse, triggering a rush to the safety of Treasury securities that fueled demand for the U.S. currency. Gold has climbed 6.2 percent and the dollar index is up 9.3 percent, while the MSCI World Index of stocks has slid 25 percent, paced by Citigroup Inc. and other financial companies. World Economy The global economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time since World War II, and trade will decline by the most in 80 years, the World Bank said yesterday. World economic growth will be 5 percent below its potential, the bank said in a report. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust fell to 33.08 million ounces on March 6 from a record 33.09 million the day before, the first drop since Jan. 8. Investment in Gold Bullion Securities Ltd. on the London Stock Exchange slid 2.2 percent to 4.09 million ounces at the same time, the ETF Securities Web site shows. “The lack of inflows in the gold ETFs, particularly into the NYSE-listed SPDR, has left the market nervous,” John Reade, an analyst at UBS AG in London, wrote today in an e-mail. Among other metals for immediate delivery, silver dropped 11.5 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $13.265 an ounce. Platinum declined $9.75, or 0.9 percent, to $1,061.75 an ounce, and palladium fell $5, or 2.4 percent, to $200.50 an ounce.

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