CHICAGO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened and investors pondered the latest economic data for the hints on the pace of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increases.
The most active gold contract for April delivery went down 5.9 dollars, or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,321.7 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the buck against six rivals, went up 0.6 percent to 90.16 as of 1830 GMT .
Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall.
As for other precious metals, silver for May delivery rose 0.6 cent, or 0.04 percent, to settle at 16.5 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April went down 0.9 dollars, or 0.09 percent, to close at 952.3 dollars per ounce.
