"I think the market doesn't believe, at least yet, that there's a case for gold to go above $1,300 ... The dollar is still relatively strong," said Philip Newman, director at Metals Focus. Gold still faces short-term headwinds, Newman said, adding that the metal is only one of the beneficiaries of renewed interest for safe havens from market volatility.
A stronger US dollar, another refuge for investors, makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar index was up 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies on Thursday. Meanwhile European shares firmed, helped by gains in technology stocks.
The ECB left euro zone interest rates firmly in sub-zero territory but investors were waiting to see how much concern Draghi shows at his 1330 GMT news conference after a blizzard of glum data. "The macro-economic backdrop is more positive for gold, which we think will continue to benefit from safe-haven demand this year," analysts at Capital Economics said in a note, and forecast gold prices at $1,350 by end-2019.
"Investor inflows look set to continue given our expectation of further falls in global equity markets and slower economic growth." Gold prices have gained more than 10 percent since touching 1-1/2-year lows in mid-August, mainly because of dampened risk sentiment amid fears of a global slowdown, expectations of a pause in US interest rate hikes and a prolonged government shutdown in the United States.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in a CNN interview that the US economy could register zero growth in the first three months if the partial government shutdown lasts the whole quarter. Spot gold could retest support at $1,278 an ounce, a break below which could cause a loss to the next support at $1,266, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
Among other metals, palladium, which hit a record high of $1,434.50 an ounce last week on low inventories and rising demand, was down 0.6 percent at $1,339 per ounce. Silver was 0.4 percent lower at $15.30 per ounce and platinum slipped 0.8 percent to $787.34.