Gold prices extended losses into a second session on Thursday as the dollar strengthened after the European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold, and as investors viewed the testimony from former U.S. FBI director James Comey as containing no significant surprises.
 Investors still await the outcome of Britain's national election and opinion polls on the eve of the election showed Theresa May's Conservative Party leading between 5 and 12 percentage points over the main opposition Labour Party, suggesting she would increase her majority.
Earlier in the session, the euro declined after the European Central Bank cut its forecasts for inflation and said that policymakers had not discussed scaling back its massive bond-buying programme.
Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,277.95 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery shed 1.1 percent to settle at $1,279.50.
Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed President Donald Trump had directed him to drop a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the broader Russia investigation. However, he did not make any major new revelations about alleged links between Trump or his associates and Russia. Some investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve policy meeting next week where a rate hike is widely expected. An interest rate will boost the dollar, and weigh on gold in the near term.
On technical front, gold fell for the second consecutive day, but held above the 20-day moving average of $1,267. The MACD index still showed a strong upward momentum, but a down trend had formed. Investors shall focus on the support of technical indicators. The next support can found at the 50-day moving average of $1,260 if the 20-day moving average is breached.
Silver tracked gold, down 1 percent to $17.38. The support of the 50-day moving average is tested. Technically, the 200-day moving average crossed below the 100-day moving average, suggesting a down trend in the near term. We maintain our bullish view on silver in the medium and long term.

 
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Li Nan

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