Gold prices dip in Asia ahead of ECB meeting expected to ease policy

Investing.com - Gold prices dipped in Asia on Thursday with investors focused on an upcoming European Central Bank meeting expected to further ease policy.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery fell 0.22% to 1.290.80 a troy ounce in Asia.

Overnight, gold remained above the $1,300-level on Wednesday, after data showed that the number of building permits issues in the U.S. fell unexpectedly in December, while housing starts topped forecasts, painting a mixed picture of the U.S. housing sector.

Also on the Comex Thursday, silver futures for March delivery eased 0.40% to trade at $18.120 troy ounce, the highest level since September 19.

In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that the number of building permits issued last month decreased by 1.9% to 1.032 million units from November’s total of 1.052 million.

Analysts expected building permits to rise by 1.3% to 1.055 million units in December.

The report also showed that U.S. housing starts rose by 4.4% last month to hit 1.089 million units from November’s total of 1.043 million units, compared to expectations for a reading of 1.040 million.

Gold is up 10% so far in 2015, while silver has gained almost 15%, as investors sought safety from volatility in global financial markets.

Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for March delivery gained 0.05% at $2.607 a pound, recovering from an overnight drop.

The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast for 2015 on Tuesday to 3.5% from a previous estimate of 3.8%, citing slowing economies in China, Russia, the euro zone and Japan.

Copper is sensitive to the economic growth outlook because of its widespread uses across industries. The red metal is down approximately 10% so far in January.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.01% to 93.00.

The euro edged higher against the greenback, but sentiment on the single currency remained vulnerable amid growing expectations the European Central Bank will embark on an outright quantitative easing program on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.

Uncertainty over the outcome of Greek elections, due to be held on Sunday, with anti-bailout party Syriza leading in the polls also weighed.