CHICAGO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped slightly on Monday as dollar went up on concerns the swine influenza may worsen the world economy. Silver ended higher, but platinum went down.

    Gold price for June delivery fell 5.90 U.S. dollars, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 908.20 dollars an ounce.

    The swine flu crisis is getting worse not only in Mexico, but also across the world. The World Health Organization said on Monday that 73 cases of swine flu have been confirmed worldwide, 40 of which are in the United States and 26 in its neighbor Mexico, where as many as 149 deaths are thought to have been caused by the virus. Several other countries have reported cases or suspected ones.

    Fears of a rampant outbreak of the fatal virus sent investors flocking to U.S. dollar for safe haven, putting much pressure on gold, said analysts.

    By the end of the regular trading time in COMEX, dollar rate against euro has soared more than 2 cents to 1.3021 dollars and the dollar index rose about 1 point.

    Crude oil's decline on fears that the spread of swine flu may forecast a downtrend in global oil demand was also bearish to the precious metal. June oil in New York closed at 50.14 dollars per barrel, down 1.41 dollars, or 2.7 percent.

    July silver finished at 12.985 dollars per ounce, up 3.5 cents. July platinum dropped 33.70 dollars to 1150.30 dollars per ounce.