Gold futures advanced as the dollar weakened Tuesday, reviving the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment.

The greenback fell for the second time in three sessions against a basket of 10 major currencies, after trading near a five-year high. Gold erased earlier losses of as much as 1.2 percent.

“The dollar has definitely come down, and that takes a lot of the pressure off the metal,” Peter Thomas, a senior vice president at Zaner Group LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.

Gold futures for December delivery gained 0.3 percent to settle at $1,163 an ounce on the Comex in New York. On Nov. 7, prices reached $1,130.40, the lowest since April 2010.

The metal’s drop to a four-year low has increased demand from physical buyers. Austria’s Mint says sales of gold coins so far this month are already 40 percent higher than the total for October. Prices will rebound to $1,200 by next October, according to a survey of participants at the London Bullion Market Association’s annual conference in Lima this week.

Prices dropped 3.3 percent this year, set for a second annual loss and the longest slide since 1998. Signs of a stronger U.S. economy drove the dollar higher and fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates after ending its bond-buying program. Higher borrowing costs cut the allure of the metal which generally offers investors returns through rising prices.

Silver futures for delivery in December added less than 0.1 percent to $15.678 an ounce on the Comex.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for January delivery lost less than 0.1 percent to $1,206.70 an ounce. Palladium futures for December delivery rose 0.8 percent to $772.70 an ounce.