Gold falls on oil decline

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell slightly on Thursday as oil prices dropped, prompting a retreat from the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for February delivery lost 1 U.S. dollar, or 0.08 percent, to settle at 1207.7 dollars per ounce.

Gold opened higher on Thursday as the Euro rallied strongly against the U.S. dollar on the news that the European Central Bank (ECB) offered no surprises when it decided on Thursday to leave interest rates unchanged without posting new stimulus measures.

Gold prices turned flat after U.S. weekly jobless claims. The U. S. Department of Labor released its weekly jobless claims report on Thursday, showing jobless claims falling 17,000 during the week ending Nove. 29 to 297,000 claims. This was in line with analysts expectations.

Gold futures came under pressure from WTI Crude Oil falling by 50 cents, or 0.74 percent to 66.88 dollars per barrel on Thursday. This alleviated some of the pressure on U.S. equity markets and put additional pressure on the precious metal.

Silver for March delivery gained 16.3 cents, or 0.99 percent, to close at 16.575 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery gained 18.4 dollars, or 1.50 percent, to close at 1,245.9 dollars per ounce.