Gold prices dropped on Thursday in Asia as risk-appetite returned amid reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced a $50 billion aid package to ease the impact on global economies caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Overnight data that showed U.S. services sector activity jumped to a one-year high in February were also cited as headwind for the yellow metal. Meanwhile, the private labor market generated better-than-expected 183,000 jobs, putting more pressure on gold prices.
The last time the Fed made a rate cut between scheduled meetings was in October 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis.