Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell more than 1 percent on Friday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened and equities rallied.

The most active gold contract for April delivery went down 16.90 U.S. dollars, or 1.28 percent, to settle at 1299.20 dollars per ounce, the first time in five weeks to close below 1,300 dollar mark.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.39 percent to 96.5310 at 3:00 p.m. EST (2000 GMT).

Gold and the dollar usually 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 holding other currencies.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday. The Dow increased 0.43 percent to 26,026.32, and the S&P 500 was up 0.69 percent to 2,803.69, while the Nasdaq was up 0.83 percent to 7,595.35.

When equities post gains, the precious metal usually goes down, as investors are not necessarily looking for a safe haven, such as gold.

As for other precious metals, silver for May delivery went down 37.8 cents, or 2.42 percent, to close at 15.256 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery was down 11.50 dollars, or 1.31 percent, to settle at 863.70 dollars per ounce.