Gold futures end lower on stronger dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended lower on Thursday, giving back more than half of what they gained a day earlier as the U.S. dollar edged higher.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 6.2 U.S. dollars, or 0.48 percent, to settle at 1,284.6 dollars per ounce. Traders positioned themselves ahead of the highly anticipated U.S. jobs data due on Friday, according to some market analysts.

Despite interest rates in the European Union remaining at current levels, the U.S. dollar strengthened on the day.

Some analysts believe, it is because the discussion over asset purchases is still firmly on the table and European Central Bank ( ECB) President Mario Draghi made that clear, deflation fear is growing by the day across the globe, which implies European quantitative easing is going to happen.

The ECB on Thursday kept rates on hold and refrained from launching any nonconventional easing measures, reports say.

If the U.S. economy continues to show signs of improvement, the precious metal may come under more selling pressure as the Federal Reserve will have economic data support to continue with their tapering policy.

Silver for May delivery fell 24.5 cents, or 1.22 percent, to close at 19.805 dollars per ounce.