Gold Pushes Higher Ahead Of Europe Rate Calls

Gold prices attempted to break out of recent range-bound activity on Thursday, pushing higher ahead of the outcomes of meetings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England and amid some dollar weakness.

Gold for December delivery  climbed $9.80, or 0.6%, to $1,789.50 an ounce in electronic trading in Europe. On Wednesday, gold gained $4.20 to settle at $1,779.80.

Bold measures from the ECB aren’t in the cards for Thursday, according to economists, with the central bank expected to hold steady on record-low interest rates.

Any change in policy will be announced at 1:45 p.m. local time, or 7:45 a.m. Eastern time, with a news conference by ECB President Mario Draghi to follow at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Read: ECB chief Mario Draghi’s hands are tied

The Bank of England is also expected to hold steady on interest rates, with a decision due at 7 a.m. Eastern.

Monetary-policy easing over the past few months has acted as a support for gold as investors view it as the ultimate store of value. Gold strengthens when investors fear inflation and currency weakening.

Key U.S. nonfarm-payrolls data for Friday will be the economic highlight of the week for gold, equities and other assets. The metal wobbled after a positive U.S. services report a day prior.

Gold was also gaining amid some weakness in the dollar. The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, fell to 79.774 from 79.956 in North American trade late Wednesday. The dollar rose against the Japanese yen but weakened against the euro. Read: Dollar gains against Japanese yen

Other metals followed gold higher. December silver futures  jumped 33 cents, or 1%, to $35.02 an ounce, while December copper  gained 2 cents, or 0.5%, to $3.80 a pound.

December palladium  rose $4.60, or 0.7%, to $662.80 an ounce, and January platinum futures  added $10.10, or 0.6%, to $1,704.20 an ounce.

Mining strikes have been supportive for metals such as platinum. In South Africa, nearly 20% of the nation’s miners are striking, which is affecting some of the biggest gold and platinum mining companies in that country. Striking spread to the iron-ore sector on Wednesday.

Marketwatch