Gold down on strong dollar

Gold futures fell on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 13.7 U.S. dollars, or 1.20 percent, to settle at 1,124.60 dollars per ounce.

Technical trading gave support to the precious metal as U.S. equities continued to have liquid volatility, causing the price of gold to rise.

Gold was put under pressure as a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Wednesday showed new orders of durable goods increasing for two months in a row, to by a much higher than expected rate of 2 percent.

The precious metal was put under additional pressure as the U.S. Dollar Index rose by 1.13 percent to 95.03 as of 1800 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Silver for September delivery fell 56.9 cents, or 3.89 percent, to close at 14.041 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery added 3.5 dollars, or 0.36 percent, to close at 980.20 dollars per ounce.