On Thursday, gold futures tumbled to a weekly low, while the euro fell against the dollar, after ECB President, Mario Draghi, said that the volume of the bank's incentive programs need to be reviewed at the December meeting.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery dropped $ 1.40, or 0.12%, to get traded at $ 1165.70 per troy ounce, during US morning session. Earlier, gold fell to $ 1162.90, the lowest level since October 13.
The euro lost more than 1% against the dollar, while the USD index, which indicates the position of the US dollar against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.9% to 95.91, the highest since October 6.
A strong US dollar, as a rule, is putting pressure on gold as it reduces the attractiveness of metal as an alternative asset and increases in price the dollar-denominated commodities for holders of other currencies.
European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi, said that the leadership will reconsider volume incentives at its December meeting.
Draghi added that the central bank's QE program will run until September 2016 or longer if necessary, until inflation is close to 2.0%.
The comments came after the ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a record low of 0.05%. The Central Bank also kept rates on margin loans of 0.3%, and the deposit rate at minus 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the US Labor Department said the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time increased by 3000 last week to 259000. Analysts had expected the number of requests will increase by 9000 to 265000, from 256000 the previous week.
The number of applications for unemployment benefits is kept below 300 000 for 32 consecutive weeks, indicating a strengthening labor market.
Investors are trying to predict when the Fed will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly ten years after the latest economic reports have depicted a mixed picture of the US economy.
The time of Fed rate hike is a constant subject of market discussions in recent months. The US central bank has planned two more meetings on the definition of monetary policy until the end of the year: in late October and mid-December.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery rose 3.4 cents, or 1.45%, to $ 2395 per pound during morning trade in New York.