Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed lower

 Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed lower on Friday (Saturday morning GMT ) , as the U.S. economy continues to improve .

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 0.5 U.S. dollars , or 0.04 percent, to settle at 1294.3 U.S. dollars per ounce .

Gold ended the week with a loss of 3.1 percent , but closed the first quarter of this year with a gain of 7.7 percent .

With the reduction of tension in Ukraine , economic data back in the gold market . U.S. Commerce Department , Friday , reported U.S. consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in February seasonally adjusted , the fastest growth since November .

Economic data are passionate , together with the U.S. economy growing 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and initial jobless claims touched the lowest level in four months , has attracted investors to the stock of gold .

Even a report from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment put the size at the end of March in figure 80 , the lowest level since November , failed to sustain the gold market .

Level of 1,300 dollars is a psychological support to gold . Now thanks in part to strong economic data , this level has been broken . Analysts believe the market under the expected rise in the U.S. dollar , the gold growth will be limited this year .

Investors are also looking at the U.S. Federal Reserve's plan to cut back on buying its bonds and eventually return to normal monetary policy .

Silver for May delivery rose 8.2 cents , or 0.42 per cent to close at 19.79 U.S. dollars per ounce . Platinum for July delivery rose 8.8 U.S. dollars , or 0.63 percent, to close at 1407.2 U.S. dollars per ounce .