Gold (XAU/USD) attracted some follow-through buying for the second day in a row in Asian trading on Thursday and climbed to a two-week high near $2,373. Moreover, the near-term trend remains bullish as the market bets that major central banks will reduce borrowing costs to boost economic activity. In fact, the Bank of Canada (BOC) cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in four years on Wednesday from a high of more than two decades, citing concerns about slowing economic growth. In addition, the European Central Bank is also expected to cut interest rates for the first time since March 2016 at its June policy meeting that ends later today.
Meanwhile, the market currently sees a higher probability of an imminent rate cut by the Federal Reserve amid signs of a slowdown in the US economy. Such expectations have kept US Treasury yields depressed, close to their lowest level in more than two months, and have failed to boost the US dollar after a slight rebound in the past two days. Coupled with the ongoing geopolitical tensions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, it continues to be a positive for safe-haven gold prices. Despite a series of supporting factors, the upside for gold prices seems limited as traders are waiting to see the US non-farm payrolls report (NFP) released on Friday.