(Updates prices)
* ECB President also set to launch broad review of policy
* WHO to decide on global emergency declaration over China
virus
* Spot gold biased to revisit low of $1,545.96/oz -
technicals
By Sumita Layek
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday,
consolidating near the $1,550 level, ahead of a policy decision
by the European Central Bank, although mounting concerns over a
virus outbreak in China limited losses.
The euro zone's central bank will announce its monetary
policy decision at 1245 GMT.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2% at $1,556.20 per ounce by
0855 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 fell 0.1% to $1,555.90.
With nearly 600 confirmed cases and 17 deaths in China from
the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization will decide
on Thursday whether to declare a global emergency over the
outbreak. "It looks like the market doesn't really have the impetus it
needs to go one way or another, even the coronavirus outbreak
did not give gold a meaningful run," said Ilya Spivak, a senior
currency strategist at DailyFx.
However, "If there is an (WHO emergency) announcement, the
markets might conclude or be concerned that we might have a
SARS-like response, where there is significant economic impact
and gold might go up on that," he said.
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in
2002-2003, also a coronavirus outbreak, had started in China and
killed nearly 800 people worldwide and hit the global economy.
Gold is considered a safe asset in times of political and
economic uncertainty.
Traders remained anxious about the spread of the virus as
China gears up to celebrate the Lunar New Year from this
weekend, a peak period for travel and gold demand in the region.
Under investors' radar is a monetary policy meeting by the
European Central Bank, where ECB President Christine Lagarde is
also set to launch a broad review of its policy that is likely
to see her redefine the central bank's main goal and how to
achieve it. "Lower interest rates and accommodative monetary policy are
the reality, and this favours investment demand for gold ...
though, the sector remains vulnerable to brief pullbacks, as
investors lock-in profits," ANZ analysts said in a note.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding
non-yielding bullion.
Spot gold is biased to revisit its Jan. 21 low of $1,545.96
per ounce, as it looks shaky around a resistance at $1,564, said
Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C
Among other precious metals, palladium XPD= rose 1.1% to
$2,499.70 an ounce, silver XAG= fell 0.5% to $17.72 per ounce,
while platinum XPT= dipped 0.4% to $1,007.79.