Gold falls below 1,300 USD per ounce as U.S. dollar rallies

CHICAGO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell sharply on Thursday, back below the 1,300 U.S. dollars per once level as the green back rallied.

The most active Gold contract for June delivery went down 21.60 dollars, or 1.64 percent, to settle at 1,295.30 dollars per ounce.

The dollar has strengthened notably in the past three days. The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.23 percent to 97.18 before Gold's Thursday settlement.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, Gold futures will fall as Gold, priced in the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors holding other currencies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.37 points, or 0.19 percent to 25,674.96 points as of 1733 GMT, and the SP 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index followed Dow's uptrend. The moderate rally of equities added pressure to Gold, a safe haven asset.

Silver and Platinum futures also posted significant losses. Silver for May delivery went down 32.5 cents, or 2.12 percent, to close at 14.973 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery slid 18.4 dollars, or 2.13 percent, to settle at 843.80 dollars per ounce.