Gold rises on softer dollar; investors focus on ECB, BOE meetings

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Gold prices inched higher on Thursday as the eased, while investors shifted their focus away from the U.S. Federal Reserve to other key central bank meetings.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,780.63 per ounce by 0135 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to $1,780.20.

* The dollar index moved lower from a three-week high hit in the previous session.

* The Fed said on Wednesday it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and paved the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022.

* The European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England (BOE), as well as the Swiss National Bank and Norges Bank, will hold policy meetings later on Thursday.

* ECB officials are set to call time on the central bank’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme but investors will look to see how the six-year old Asset Purchase Programme may pick up the slack, though rate rises are a way away.

* Wall Street reversed earlier losses and climbed into positive territory after the Fed meeting.

* Spot silver was flat at $22.05 an ounce.

* Platinum shed 0.1% to $918.01 and palladium gained 1% to $1,613.61.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0815 France Markit Mfg Flash PMI Dec

0830 Germany Markit Mfg Flash PMI Dec

0900 EU Markit Mfg Flash PMI Dec

0930 UK Flash Manufacturing PMI Dec

1200 UK BOE Bank Rate Dec

1245 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Dec

1245 EU ECB Deposit Rate Dec

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly