Investing.com - Gold prices added to overnight losses in European trade on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened with investors focused on the Bank of England's policy announcement later in the session.
The BOE will release its rate decision, minutes of its Monetary Policy Committee meeting and its quarterly inflation report at 11:00GMT, or 07:00AM ET, on Thursday. BoE Governor Mark Carney will address the financial press at 11:30GMT, or 7:30AM ET.
A Reuters poll of economists published last week predicted the British central bank would cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% from 0.50%, but most said it would not revive its massive bond-buying program for now.
Expectations for more easing mounted after BoE Governor Mark Carney recently suggested interest rate cuts and additional stimulus will likely be needed over the summer to offset the hit to the economy from Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.2% at 95.69 early Thursday, moving away from a six-week low of 94.94 hit earlier this week.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped $8.95, or 0.65% to trade at $1,355.90 a troy ounce by 06:59GMT, or 2:59AM ET.
A day earlier, gold lost $7.90, or 0.58%, as the U.S. dollar gained following the release of better than expected U.S. private payrolls data.
Investors looked ahead to Friday's key nonfarm payrolls report to gauge the health of the world's largest economy and whether it is strong enough to warrant an interest rate hike in the coming months.
The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 175,000 last month, following an increase of 287,000 in June, the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.9%, while average hourly earnings are expected to rise 0.2% after gaining 0.1% a month earlier.
An upbeat employment report will point to an improving economy and support the case for higher interest rates in the months ahead, while a weak report would add to uncertainty over the economic outlook and push prospects of tighter monetary policy further off the table.
Fed funds futures are currently pricing in just a 12% chance of a rate hike by September. December odds were at around 40%, compared to 53% at the start of last week.
The yellow metal has been well supported in recent sessions as a string of disappointing U.S. economic reports prompted market players to push back expectations for the next U.S. rate hike.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
For the year, the precious metal is up nearly 28%, boosted by concerns over global growth and expectations of monetary stimulus.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for September delivery shed 28.3 cents, or 1.38%, to trade at $20.18 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures declined 1.7 cents, or 0.75%, to $2.182 a pound.