Analysts: Ahead of the non-farm payroll data release, market expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have intensified.

Analyst Haresh Menghani stated that gold maintained a slight downward trend during the first half of the European session. However, ahead of the highly anticipated US non-farm payroll data release, investors chose to remain on the sidelines, and gold prices lacked strong bearish momentum. The crucial US employment data will provide clues about the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut path, which will in turn play a key role in influencing the short-term trend of the US dollar and provide new momentum for gold. Amid risk aversion ahead of the key data release, the US dollar continued its two-week upward trend, reaching a one-month high, putting some downward pressure on gold prices. However, rising market expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, coupled with continued geopolitical uncertainty, still provided support for gold as a safe-haven asset. This mixed fundamental background made traders reluctant to make new directional bets, resulting in a flat gold price movement, exhibiting a range-bound trading pattern. (Jinshi)