Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange suffered its third consecutive day of losses on Friday as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen.

The most active gold contract for April delivery fell 5.50 U.S. dollars, or 0.42 percent, to settle at 1312.30 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.10 percent to 90.22 as of 1627 GMT.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average kept an upbeat trend on Friday, rising 134.39 points, or 0.54 percent, to 25,008.05 as of 1638 GMT.

Both the dollar and equities usually move in opposite directions with gold. If the dollar and stocks rally, gold futures will fall as the precious metal, priced in U.S. dollar, becomes less attractive to investors using relatively weak currencies and funds will be lured to stock market.

Next Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee will start its scheduled two-day meeting on interest rates.

Market observers have widely expected that the Fed will announce the first rate hike in 2018. Such an expectation has pressured gold prices.

The new Fed chairman Jerome Powell has reassured investors that he will raise rates gradually, following the same approach by his predecessor Janet Yellen.

As for other precious metals, silver for May delivery fell 15 cents, or 0.91 percent, to settle at 16.272 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April went down 6.70 dollars, or 0.70 percent, to close at 950.20 dollars per ounce.