Gold held its ground on Friday after hitting a record high in the previous session on mounting expectations of another big US interest rate cut this year, while market participants awaited a key inflation report for further direction.

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Fundamentals

• Spot gold was steady at $2,670.50 per ounce, as of 0028 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $2,685.42 on Thursday.

• Bullion prices have risen more than 29% so far this year, smashing record highs several times on US rate-cut hopes, safe-haven demand and robust central bank buying. * US gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $2,692.70.

• Data on Thursday showed that US weekly jobless claims fell by 4,000 to a four-month low of 218,000, below the 225,000 forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

• The Federal Reserve delivered a 50-basis-point rate cut at its last policy meeting and traders see a 51% chance of another half-percentage-point reduction in November, according to CME FedWatch Tool.

• Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which is also viewed as a safe asset during economic and political turmoil.

• Market focus is now on the core personal consumption expenditures price index data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due later in the day.

• China’s monthly net gold imports via Hong Kong dropped 76% to their lowest in more than two years in August, according to data on Thursday.

• Spot silver fell 0.4% to $31.91 per ounce, after hitting a 12-year peak in the previous session.

• Silver prices have bubbled up to their highest in more than a decade on the back of bullion’s stellar bull run and China’s stimulus measures, although some analysts expect the rally to fade as industrial sector demand remains a concern.

• Platinum was steady at $1,006.65 and palladium shed 0.4% to $1,043.22.