Gold prices fell Thursday after the European Central Bank announced it was keeping a key interest rate at 0.05 percent. Spot gold was trading at around $1,284, down about 0.75 percent. Still to come: the ECB's announcement about whether it would embark on a quantitative easing policy to steer the euro zone away from deflation. Before the interest rate announcement, gold fell further below a five-month high, hurt by profit-taking ahead of the European Central Bank's decision on stimulus measures, and strength in Asian equities that dented the metal's safe-haven appeal. Market expectations are sky-high for the ECB to unveil a large-scale program of quantitative easing - printing money to purchase sovereign bonds - resorting to its last big policy tool for breathing life into the flagging euro zone economy and fending off deflation. The stimulus measures should increase demand for bullion, but gold could have already priced in the ECB factor. Prices climbed to $1,305 an ounce on Wednesday, their highest since August.

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