By Glenys Sim Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell for a second day in Asia as a gain in the dollar dimmed the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six trading partners including the euro and yen, rose for a third day today. Bullion has fallen 0.7 percent in the past two days as the index climbed 0.5 percent in the same period. “The U.S. dollar will continue to drive the gold market,” said Tetsuya Yoshii, vice president for derivative products at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. “After the big run up in gold prices two weeks ago, gold will probably stay around these levels before testing higher again.” Gold for immediate delivery slid as much as 0.3 percent to $1,052.01 an ounce, and traded at $1,053.54 at 8:48 a.m. Singapore time. The metal reached a record $1,070.80 an ounce on Oct. 14. December-delivery gold lost 0.2 percent to $1,054.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar traded near a one-month high against the yen on speculation the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates sooner than economists forecast. It was little changed against the euro after touching a 14-month high on Oct. 23. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver fell 0.6 percent to $17.60 an ounce and palladium was little changed at $335.25 an ounce. Platinum dropped from a 13-month high of $1,377.75 an ounce on Oct. 23, trading down 0.3 percent at $1,355.50 an ounce as of 8:52 a.m. in Singapore.

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