The metal also faces another potentially challenging year in 2016 amid the prospect of higher US interest rates and a robust dollar.
Largely influenced by US monetary policy and dollar flows, the price of gold fell 10 per cent in 2015 as some investors sold the precious metal to buy assets that pay a yield, such as equities.
US gold futures for February delivery settled at $US1,060.2 per ounce on Thursday, slightly up from Wednesday and close to six-year lows of $US1,046 per ounce earlier in December.
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $US1,061.4 an ounce, during the last trading session of the year. Volumes were thin ahead of the New Year holiday on Friday.
"The key factor for gold remains the strong US dollar and that ultimately trumps all other issues including the economy and the geopolitics," said Ross Norman, chief executive of bullion broker Sharps Pixley.
The US dollar gained around nine per cent this year against a basket of major currencies, making US dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Other precious metals have also been hit by US dollar strength and the gold slump, and were headed for sharp annual declines.
The most-active US silver futures settled at $US13.803 per ounce on Thursday, down 0.3 per cent from Wednesday and ending the year down 12 per cent.
Gold prices fall for a third year in a row
04 January 2016
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Gold prices a bit higher on Thursday, ending the year down 10 per cent for its third straight annual decline.
