Gold prices were steady on Friday, after rising more than 1% in the previous session, as persistent geopolitical tensions and optimism surrounding US interest rate cuts supported bullion.
Spot gold held its ground at $2,426.00 per ounce, as of 0203 GMT, after registering its best day since July 16 on Thursday.
Bullion, however, headed for a weekly decline and has lost as much as 3% so far this week, after investors liquidated positions in tandem with a broader equities selloff.
According to Reuters, Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly confident that inflation is cooling enough to allow interest rate cuts ahead, and they will take their cues on the size and timing of those rate cuts not from stock market turmoil but from the economic data, according to a shared message of three US central bankers on Thursday.