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By Bloomberg

Gold traded below a five-month high before a European Central Bank policy meeting that may introduce stimulus and elections in Greece set to determine its membership of the euro area. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust contracted.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,292.97 an ounce at 1:06 p.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal advanced to $1,305.25 on Wednesday, the highest level since Aug. 15, keeping the 14-day relative-strength index above the level of 70, signaling to some investors an impending reversal.

The ECB will probably adopt a program of quantitative easing, or QE, weakening the common currency that’s already near an 11-year low. President Mario Draghi proposes spending 50 billion euros a month through December 2016, two euro-area central-bank officials said before a meeting on Thursday. Assets in the SPDR, the largest exchange-traded product backed by bullion, fell on Wednesday for the first time in a week, fell from 742.24 metric tons, the highest since October.

“For now, investors will focus on the ECB’s QE program,” Edward Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone in New York, wrote in a note. “We remain constructive on the precious group for the balance of the week. The Greek elections slated for this weekend are another wild card.”

The ECB’s plan highlights a divergence from the Federal Reserve, which is moving toward raising interest rates even as an oil rout keeps inflation below the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent goal. European policy makers are focused on the fate of Greece as the country that triggered the region’s sovereign-debt crisis in 2009 prepares for a Jan. 25 election.

Gold for February delivery was little changed at $1,293.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

Silver for immediate delivery traded at $18.1655 an ounce from $18.127 on Wednesday, when the metal rose to $18.4864, the highest level since September. A settlement at $18.4064 would leave prices up 20 percent from the closing low of $15.3387 in November, meeting the common definition of a bull market.

Spot platinum climbed 0.2 percent to $1,275 an ounce. Prices rose on Wednesday to $1,288.50, the highest since October, before ending 0.8 percent lower. Palladium rose 0.4 percent to $770.65 an ounce.