NEW YORK: Gold fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank held interest rates at record lows but refrained from adding new stimulus as some investors had expected.

Global equities also tumbled on disappointment that ECB chief Mario Draghi said the bank had not even discussed an extension of quantitative easing.

“The market was hoping for more from Draghi and he didn’t give it to them,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for US Bank Wealth management in Seattle.

“I think there’s not enough yet for speculators to increase their bullish sentiment and in the end, the market is thinking

the odds of the Fed raising rates for probably December keep inching higher.”

Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,337.4 an ounce by 2:39 p.m. EDT (1839 GMT), with US gold futures settling down 0.6 percent at $1,341.6.

Spot gold faces resistance at $1,352 an ounce and will likely stay below that level, with support at $1,327, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Platinum fell 0.6 percent to $1,078.2 an ounce after hitting a two-week high on Wednesday.

In its latest Platinum Quarterly report, the World Platinum Investment Council forecast a 520,000-ounce deficit in the platinum market this year, up from a 455,000-ounce shortfall predicted three months earlier.

Palladium was down 0.25 percent at $685.25 while silver was down 0.89 percent at $19.58 an ounce.-Reuters