Gold prices ease 1.2 as equities soar

The gold price traded as high as USD 1,602.50 and as low as USD 1,574.30 an ounce,while the spot price was shedding USD 19.10,according to Kitco8217;s gold index.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi asserted status quo policy moving forward as he pointed out that the bank would remain committed to price stability an answer to critics who have said the ECB is doing either too much or too little.

8220;The thing that the gold market is looking at right now is,they are just competing assets: the stock market is near a five-year high8230;European stocks were firmer today,the Japanese and Asian stocks have rallied recently,8221; Jim Wyckoff,senior metals analyst at Kitco.com,said in an interview.

8220;The European Union sovereign debt crisis was back on the front burner earlier this week; that situation seemed to have calmed down a bit.8221;

Silver prices for May delivery dropped 24 cents to USD 28.75 an ounce,while the US dollar index jumped 0.31 per cent to USD 81.82.

Domestic economic indicators showed continued recovery,which likely was adding to the slight downward pressure on gold prices.

The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended February 23 were 344,000,a drop of 22,000 from the previous week.

Economists were expecting claims to hit 360,000.

The Federal Reserve has pegged its policy to maintain low interest rates to an unemployment rate that holds at or above 6.5.

Any indication that the labor market is rapidly approaching that target would suggest the likely conclusion to low rates and the highly accommodative monetary stance.

Chicago PMI rose to 56.8 in February from January8217;s 55.6.

February8217;s number was higher than economists8217; expectation for the index to fall to 54.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its second estimate of fourth-quarter 2012 gross domestic product and found that the economy grew slightly by 0.1.

This was a slight uptick from the first reading,which noted that the economy had contracted by 0.1.

Gold mining stocks were mostly lower on Thursday.

Shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines AUYwere losing 3.6,and Kinross Gold NG shares were off 3.5.