Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange extended their slump Thursday to a third straight session, pressured by strength in the dollar.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 6.5 U.S. dollars, or 0.54 percent, to close at 1,205 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the buck against six rivals, went up 0.13 percent to 94.7305 as of 2000 GMT. The greenback strengthened as U.S. economic data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will stick to a steady pace of rate increases.

Gold usually moves in opposite directions with the U.S. dollar, which means if the dollar goes strong, gold futures will fall as gold, priced in U.S. dollar, becomes expensive for investors using other currencies.

As for other precious metals, silver for December delivery dropped 21.6 cents, or 1.46 percent, to settle at 14.594 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October fell 4.8 dollars, or 0.6 percent, to close at 791.8 dollars per ounce.