Gold declines on a stronger U.S. dollar

Gold price fell on a stronger U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar rose on comments by the European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. He hinted at a press conference on Thursday that the central bank may add further stimulus measures at its meeting in March as downside risks rose.

"Downside risks have increased again amid heightened uncertainty about emerging market economies' growth prospects, volatility in financial and commodity markets, and geopolitical risks. In this environment, euro area inflation dynamics also continue to be weaker than expected," he said.

"It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March, when the new staff macroeconomic projections become available which will also cover the year 2018," Draghi added.

The U.S. economic data was mixed. The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 16 in the U.S. rose by 10,000 to 293,000 from 283,000 in the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 278,000.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank released its manufacturing index on Thursday. The index climbed to -3.5 in January from -10.2 in December, exceeding expectations for an increase to -5.0.

February futures for gold on the COMEX today dropped to 1092.50 dollars per ounce.