Gold up

Bengaluru

Gold prices edged up on Thursday on technical buying after touching their highest in over two weeks the session before, with focus shifting to the outcome of a European Central Bank policy later in the day.

The ECB is set to keep policy unchanged but will likely lay the groundwork for more easing in December as it tries to sustain a long-awaited rebound in consumer prices.

"If the taper by the ECB does inject a more expensive euro that would mean a cheaper dollar, and gold should actually rally," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.

Spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,272.20 an ounce by 0430 GMT.  On Wednesday, it had hit its strongest since Oct. 5 at $1,273.34. U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,273.20 an ounce. "We´re looking for gold prices to rally further into the year-end.

The market is waiting for the outcome of the (U.S.) presidential elections in November and what the Fed is going to do in December," said OCBC´s Gan.