Are benefits of diversification least obvious when equity prices increase?

''Gold futures fell as U.S. equities climbed to a record and the dollar's rally curbed demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index of stocks topped 1,900 for the first time, and the greenback climbed to one-month high against the euro.  Gold slumped 28 percent last year as equities surged to a record and inflation remained muted.  Declines may be limited as escalating tensions in Ukraine spur haven demand.

'The equity market continues to rise and the dollar's strength is making gold less popular,' Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Indianapolis, said in a telephone interview. 'Some buyers, however, are picking up gold because of Ukraine.'

Gold futures for June delivery slipped 0.1 percent to $1,294.80 an ounce at 1:38 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price fell as much as 0.5 percent.

The metal rose 7.7 percent this year on the Eastern European crisis. 'Terrorists' attacked a Ukrainian army convoy near the separatist-held city of Slovyansk, killing six people, Interfax reported, citing Ukraine's Defense Ministry.''