Gold futures jumped nearly $10 ahead of two central bank meetings that could see support for policy easing to spur economic growth.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are set to announce their monetary policy decisions later today, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
Ealier in the day, Bank of Japan kicked off by leaving its monetary policy on hold, as widely expected ahead of a leadership handover set to take place later this month. Bank of Japan left its policy interest rate and size of asset-purchase program unchanged by a unanimous vote, as widely expected. The decisions were made at the last meeting of the central bank's monetary policy board before Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa and two of his deputy governors step down later in the month.
Gold for delivery in April rose $8.60 to $1,583.50 an ounce in electronic trading hours on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The ICE dollar index was at 82.484, from 82.490 in late North American trading on Wednesday, providing broad support for the metals complex.
On the data front today, at 6.00 am ET, the Federal Ministry of Economics and technology is set to issue German factory orders for January. Orders are expected to rise 0.6 percent month-on-month in January after increasing 0.8 percent in December.
The Bank of England is slated to announce the results of the monetary policy meeting at 7.00 am ET. The nine-member committee is expected to maintain quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion and the interest rate at a record low 0.50 percent.
The European Central Bank is set to announce its interest rate decision at 7.45 am ET. The central bank is seen holding its key interest rate at 0.75 percent. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a regular press conference at 8.30 am ET.
MCX April gold futures are trading slightly higher at Rs 29615 per 10 grams. A fall below Rs 29580 may be bearish for the metal today. A surge above Rs 29720 may be bullish.
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