Gold in euro terms saw increased volatility Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi did not provide any guidance on a potential expansion of the monthly bond-purchase program. The comments came after the ECB left interest rates unchanged.
“We didn’t discuss tapering or the horizon of purchase programs,” he said during the question and answer portion of his press conference.
He said that this is a discussion the council is expected to have in December, noting that the members “want to see all the inputs useful to this discussion.”
In the comment on the program, Draghi said that an “abrupt” ending to the bond purchases is unlikely to happen.
The future of the ECB’s bond-purchase program has garnered a lot of market attention and influencing gold prices; some commodity analyst noted that rumors and speculation about possible tapering helped push the market through key technical support levels at the start of the month.
Many economists were not expecting Draghi to provide much guidance on the central banks monthly bond-purchase program; however, some were expecting at least a hint that an extension would be announced in December.
