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NEW YORK - Gold futures tumbled for a third straight day on Thursday as the U.S. dollar continued to rise to a two-week against the euro and most other major currencies, eroding the investment appeal for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

Gold for August delivery ended down 50 cents at $922.30 an ounce on the Comex division on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the previous two trading sessions, the metal lost 4.2 percent and reached in intraday low of $915.90 an ounce. The contract has plunged more than $40 since Tuesday.

"While gold has suffered strong selling in recent sessions, it is only working off an overbought position, and a correction and consolidation is healthy and normal," Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold and Silver Investments Ltd., wrote in a research note.

"This looks likely to be the last such sell-off prior to a strong rally into the autumn, as is typical," he said.

The stronger dollar is putting some pressure on dollar-denominated gold. The dollar extended gains by 1.4 percent on the euro by rising as much as 0.5 percent after worrying euro-zone data. The greenback fell against the yen as U.S. stocks tumbled.

The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose to an intraday high of 73.02 by the close of metals trading, but was recently down 0.1 percent to 72.87.

Crude-oil futures rose for first time in three sessions, up 0.8 percent after dropping $20 over the past seven sessions, pushing the benchmark contract to its lowest level in seven weeks.

Crude oil for September delivery gained $1.05, or 0.8 percent, to end at $125.49 a barrel on the Nymex.

Also on the Nymex, Silver futures for September delivery fell 16 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $17.298 an ounce. Silver still has risen 16 percent this year, while gold gained 10 percent.

October platinum dropped $47 to $1,713.80 an ounce. September palladium fell $5.15 to $387 an ounce and September copper dropped 8 cents to $3.58 a pound.