Gold was almost unchanged on Friday after going down to its lowest in three weeks as the dollar rose against the euro following the European Central Bank’s decision to extend its bond purchasing program.
The European Central Bank chose to extend its bond purchasing program at a reduced pace on Thursday, and reducing chances of an interest rate hike in 2018. According to the ECB, it would cut the 60 billion euro asset purchases in half starting in January while also prolonging the program by 9 months to September.
December delivery of U.S. gold futures went down by 0.2 percent to $1,267.50 an ounce.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,266.10 an ounce. It touched $1265.08 per ounce in early trading, its lowest ever since October 6.
On Friday, the dollar was strong and is poised for weekly gains, while the euro went down to its lowest in three months after the ECB’s bond purchase extension mentioned prior.
According to a poll by Reuters on Thursday, gold will likely flatline for one more year in 2018 as the increasing interest rates in the United States limit its movement, while forecasts for silver were cut again after forecasts for the third quarter were delayed.
In other news of another precious metal, palladium will have difficulty in keeping its recent rally to 16-year highs above $1,000 per ounce, but is still expected to set record average highs for 2017 and 2018 as emissions controls go up, according to another Reuters poll.