By Margot Habiby Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for the first time in three days as the dollar strengthened against the euro, limiting the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Oil dropped as much as 1.4 percent as the dollar rose to a three-month high against the European currency and U.S. stock- index futures declined. “The market reacted to how the dollar rebounded,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Now we’re going to really need something significant to get us back to $75. We’re going to need cues from both the equities market and the dollar.” Crude oil for January delivery fell 68 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $71.98 a barrel at 9:11 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier it touched $71.65 a barrel. Oil has risen 61 percent in the past year. The dollar strengthened to $1.4361 per euro at 9:12 a.m. in New York from $1.4531 in New York yesterday. Earlier it touched $1.4329. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in March fell 0.5 percent to 1,099.7 as of 8:44 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures dropped 0.4 percent to 10,350. To contact the reporter on this story: Margot Habiby in Dallas at mhabiby@bloomberg.net.

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