Investing.com - Gold futures fell to three-month lows on Friday, as the European Central Bank's decision to slash interest rates and launch an asset-backed securities and covered bond purchasing program continued to dominate market sentiment.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded at $1,264.60 a troy ounce during early European trade, down 0.16%.
The December contract settled 0.30% lower on Thursday to end at $1,266.5 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,258.00 an ounce, the low from June 17 and resistance at $1,279.20, Thursday's high.
The ECB cut its benchmark interest rate to a record-low 0.05% from 0.15% on Thursday, surprising most market analysts who had expected no change.
In addition, ECB President Mario Draghi said the bank will begin an asset-backed securities program, to purchase non-financial assets, including covered bonds.
The ECB also cut its forecast for growth this year to 0.9% down from 1.0% previously.
Meanwhile, market participants were eyeing the highly anticipated government report on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate, due later in the day.
On Thursday, the ADP nonfarm payrolls report showed that the private sector added less jobs than expected in August.
Another report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than anticipated last week to 302,000.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery edged down 0.08% to trade at $19.123 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery rose 0.33% to trade at $3.162 a pound.