Chicago (ANTARA) - Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed lower, Friday afternoon local time (Saturday morning), owing to pressure from a stronger US dollar dampening the appeal of the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 10.5 dollars, or 0.82 percent, to settle at 1,275.7 dollars per ounce.

The US dollar index that is an index of the value of the US dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, oftentimes called a basket of US trade partners' currencies, rose 0.12 percent to 97.97 on Friday afternoon.

Generally, gold and the dollar move in opposite directions, thereby indicating that if the dollar strengthens, gold futures will fall, as the price of gold is valued in US dollars, thereby turning out to be expensive for investors using other currencies.

The prices of other precious metals, including silver, for July delivery dropped 15.1 cents, or 1.04 percent, to end at 14,388 dollars per ounce, while platinum for July delivery fell 13.3 dollars, or 1.6 percent, to close at 820.3 US dollars per ounce.

Translator: Eliswan Azly
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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