Investing.com - Gold prices steadied below their highest level in about a year early on Thursday, as markets braced for the latest meeting of the European Central Bank for fresh clues on when it will start to shift away from its ultra-easy policy.
The European Central Bank's latest interest rate decision is due at 1145GMT (7:45AM ET), with no major policy changes expected. Most of the focus will be on President Mario Draghi's press conference 45 minutes after the announcement, as investors look for more clues on when and how the ECB could start unwinding its massive quantitative easing program.
Announcing new staff forecasts, policymakers will likely upgrade the ECB's growth outlook and reduce inflation projections but only slightly.
Having already expressed concern about the rise of the euro in July, policymakers may also repeat their warning about the currency moving too quick.
Market experts believe the central bank is likely to wait until October before announcing a tapering of its €60 billion of monthly asset purchases.
Comex gold futures were at $1,340.17 a troy ounce by 2:40AM ET (0640GMT), up $1.20, or around 0.1%. Prices remained within sight of their best level since Sept. 8, 2016 at $1,349.70, touched earlier this week.
The yellow metal snapped a three-day win streak to finish lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional leaders unexpectedly agreed to raise the government debt limit until December.
If Congress passes the package, which also includes relief funding for Hurricane Harvey, it would prevent a default on the federal debt.
The positive development was seen as eliminating the near-term risk of a government shutdown.
A lack of substantial developments on the Korean Peninsula also likely contributed to an improvement in risk sentiment in markets, dampening the appeal of safe-haven assets.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures were little changed at $17.91 a troy ounce. It rose to a more than four-month peak of $18.09 at the start of this week.
Among other precious metals, platinum shed 0.2% to $1,005.55, while palladium was flat at $935.60 an ounce.
Meanwhile, copper futures fell 3.3 cents, or roughly 1%, to $3.125 a pound, pulling back from their strongest level in three years.