2019.10.2410:43:00UTC+00Gold Prices Ease As Dollar Steadies

Gold prices eased on Thursday and the U.S. dollar held firm as traders took a breather from Sino-U.S. trade headlines and looked ahead to key central bank meetings this week and next for clues on the interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold slid 0.15 percent to $1,489.39 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were down 0.25 percent at $1,491.85 per ounce.

Investors await the outcome of Mario Draghi's final policy meeting at the helm of the European Central Bank and his press conference later today.

No policy changes are expected after the ECB launched new stimulus measures just last month.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate when it reviews its monetary policy on Oct. 29 and 30.

Markets are rife with speculation the Bank of Japan could ease its policy at its Oct. 30-31 rate review.

Growth worries persist as a measure of Japanese factory activity shrank at the fastest pace in over three years in October, in yet another sign of broadening economic cracks in the face of slowing global demand and rising trade frictions.

The euro area private sector remained close to stagnation in October as manufacturing continued to shrink amid subdued expansion in services activity, survey data from IHS Markit showed.