LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures finished lower Thursday, logging a loss for February - the fifth straight month of declines - pressured by mostly upbeat U.S economic data and strength in the dollar. April gold gcj3 settled at $1,578.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $17.60, or 1.1%. Tracking most-active contracts, prices were down about 5% for the month. They've now posted monthly declines each month since October. "Our trading desk was the busiest it has ever been on the sell side in February as retail investors sold out of nervousness due to the price falls," said Mark O'Byrne at GoldCore in emailed comments. "High net-worth selling was minimal and more was seen on the buy side especially this week by wealthier clients."