2017.07.2014:09:00UTC+00Gold Holds Gains Amid Dovish ECB

Gold nudged higher Thursday amid reports saying the the European Central Bank may not make a decision on the future of its bond-buying program until October.

As expected this morning, the ECB left its key interest rate unchanged. The ECB still plans to buy 60 billion euros of government bonds and other assets each month through December, "or beyond, if necessary."

ECB President Mario Draghi struck a dovish tone at his press conference today.

"The last thing the governing council may want is an unwanted tightening of the financing conditions that?.?.?.?may even jeopardise [the recovery]," he said.

Still, the dollar failed to rally against the euro, and gold sustained its recent gains.

August gold settled at $1,245.50/oz, up $3.50, or 0.3%.

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a much bigger than expected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 15th.

Initial jobless claims fell to 233,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level of 248,000.

Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity grew at a notably slower rate in the month of July, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday.

The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region slumped to 19.5 in July from 27.6 in June.