SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed with a loss of more than $6 an ounce Wednesday with strength in the U.S. dollar against other major currencies prompting the precious metal to end a three-session winning streak.

Gold for June delivery fell to a low of $865.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed $6.50 lower at $871.20, after climbing nearly $27 over the previous three trading sessions.
"Gold traded back on the defensive after the dollar reasserted itself in the European morning," said analysts at Action Economics.

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The dollar rose Wednesday as downbeat U.S. home sales data failed to offset the effects of weak U.K. and eurozone data earlier. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 73.53 in North American trading, compared with 73.015 late Tuesday.

The greenback's rise came despite a drop in the National Association of Realtors' index of sales contracts on previously owned homes. The index, considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, fell 1.0% in March, and was 20.1% below the March 2007 level.

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