Gold dropped for a third straight session as the rise in equities and dollar pressured bullion price, ahead of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting.
The precious metal hit a low of $1244.80 an ounce, resuming its drop from a 13-month high of $1279.45 hit last week, while currently trading around $1250.03.
Most Asian shares finished higher on Thursday on hopes the ECB would boost its stimulus and after a surprise interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Later in the day, the ECB is anticipated to boost its bond purchases program and cut its deposit rate further to minus 0.4 percent.
Hence, the euro remained under pressure ahead of the ECB meeting, giving a chance to the dollar to rise.
However, if the measures announced today fell short of expectations, like December, gold may advance again to resume its rally.
The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies to hover around 97.37, according to the dollar index, where the advance in the dollar lowered demand on the yellow metal as an alternative investment.
Next week, the Federal Reserve will meet to decide on interest rates, amid expectations policymakers will not hike rates in the near term.
The RBNZ decided on Wednesday to cut its official cash rate to 2.25 percent from 2.50 percent, leaving the door open for further cuts if needed.
