CHICAGO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at their highest finish in more than a year, as the U.S dollar index fell to its lowest level since late 2014.

The most active gold contract for February delivery added 19.6 U.S. dollars, or 1.47 percent, to close at 1,356.30 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar Index which measures the buck against a basket of six rivals, dropped 0.9 percent to 89.32 as of 1900 GMT, which is its lowest level since December 2014.

Gold, which is priced in dollars, often trades inversely with the dollar, as moves in the U.S. unit can influence the attractiveness of the precious metal to holders of other currencies.

As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery went added 57.6 cents, or 3.41 percent, to settle at 17.489 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April rose 8 dollars, or 0.79 percent, to close at 1015.8 dollars per ounce.