Gold held on to overnight gains along with the euro on Friday after the European Central Bank signaled there would be no further interest rate cuts after delivering a bold easing package.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was flat at $1,270.20 an ounce by 0058 GMT, after rising 1.5 percent on Thursday, its biggest single-day gain in a week. Bullion is on course for a second weekly gain.
* US gold for April delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,270.60 an ounce.
* European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi announced on Thursday an aggressive easing package by cutting rates and expanding asset purchases, but suggested there would be no further cuts.
* “From today’s perspective and taking into account the support of our measures to growth and inflation, we don’t anticipate that it will be necessary to reduce rates further,” Draghi said.
* That revived the euro, and lifted gold to near last week’s 13-month high, peaking at $1,273.40 on Thursday.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose to 25.68 million ounces on Thursday, the highest since August 2014.
* Physical gold demand was slow in top consumer China this week, as the metal clung to this year’s strong gains, while a strike by jewellers protesting against the imposition of a tax curbed demand in No. 2 market India.
* U.S. gold giant Newmont Mining said it is selling its stake in Australian miner Regis Resources to institutional investors for $182 million.
* The euro hovered near a three-week high, standing atop big gains made overnight after the European Central Bank roiled markets by suggesting that it was done cutting interest rates for now. Asian shares were mostly steady.