NEW YORK — The price of gold suffered an extreme case of whiplash as investors tried to determine the direction of interest rates, and in turn the dollar. Gold fell as much as $33 an ounce Monday, extending its slide from Friday, as the dollar continued to advance at the expense of commodity prices. The dollar fell sharply in the early afternoon, however, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that interest rates will be kept low for some time. As a result gold regained some of its losses, finishing the day down only $5.50. After soaring to a record high of $1,227.50 last week, the price of gold screeched to a halt on Friday. After Bernanke's remarks Monday, gold for February delivery lost $5.50 to settle at $1,164 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, adding to a nearly $50 decline on Friday. Earlier in the day, prices fell to $1,136.10 after having hit a record $1,227.50 last week. Other metals also recovered some of their earlier losses, finishing moderately lower. March silver fell 16 cents to $18.36 an ounce, after falling to as low as $17.895. January platinum tumbled as much as $25.10, before settling down $5.10 at $1,444.60 an ounce. March copper futures lost 2.85 cents to $3.209 a pound. On the Chicago Board of Trade, March wheat futures fell 10 cents to $5.48 a bushel, while corn for March delivery lost 4.75 cents to $3.8375 a bushel. January soybeans added 10 cents to $10.53 a bushel.

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