On Thursday gold futures edged lower, as market players awaited the decisions form the European Central Bank's regular meeting due later Thursday, as well as highly anticipated upcoming data on U.S. employment.
Comex gold for December delivery dropped $1.50, or 0.13%, to trade at $1,132.10 a troy ounce during European morning hours.
On Wednesday, gold fell $6.20, or 0.54%, as a broadly stronger U.S. dollar and surging equity markets dampened the appeal of the yellow metal.
Comex copper for December delivery jumped 1.80% on Thursday, to trade at $2.371 a pound.
The red metal sank to a six-year low of $2.202 on August 24 as concerns over the health of China's economy and steep declines on Chinese stock markets dampened appetite for the red metal.
Market participants awaited the European Central Bank’s policy
meeting later in the day, with the lender widely expected to keep interest rates
unchanged. The central bank was also expected to trim its inflation
forecast due to the economic downturn in China and falling oil prices.
Draghi will speak at 1:30 p.m. London time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, after the ECB releases its latest rate decision at 12:45 p.m.
The U.S. will issue a weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on the trade balance at 8:30AM ET.
At 10:00AM, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to report on service sector growth for August.
Market players also looked ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which could help to provide clarity on the likelihood of a near-term interest rate hike. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 220,000 last month, following an increase of 215,000 in July, while the unemployment rate is forecast to decline to 5.2% from 5.3%.
Most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday as strong overnight gains on Wall Street and a market holiday in China supported risk appeal.
The Shanghai Composite was 0.20% lower, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was higher 0.48%.
