Due to the lackluster performance of the US dollar on Thursday, gold prices rebounded from multi-week lows.

Bets on the Federal Reserve's regular rate cut of 25 basis points in November should suppress XAU/USD.

Investors are now looking forward to the release of the US CPI report to find new directional momentum.

Gold prices (XAU/USD) edged higher in Thursday's Asian session and currently seem to have ended a six-day losing streak, testing the near three-week lows that were revisited the day before. The US dollar (USD) entered a bullish consolidation phase, as traders chose to wait before the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) later today. In the face of key data risks, some repositioning trades proved to be a key factor, providing some support for the precious metal.

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However, with the likelihood of the Federal Reserve (Fed) adopting a more aggressive easing policy becoming increasingly slim, any meaningful appreciation move in gold prices seems elusive. The minutes of the September FOMC meeting once again confirmed this expectation, keeping US Treasury yields at high levels and should limit the non-yielding gold. Therefore, strong follow-up buying is needed to confirm that the corrective decline of XAU/USD from historical peaks has ended.

Daily summary market drivers: Some repositioning trades led to higher gold prices before the release of the US CPI report.

The minutes of the September FOMC meeting showed that most people supported a rate cut of 50 basis points, as the committee was confident that inflation was moving towards the 2% target.

However, some participants indicated that they would prefer to only cut rates by 25 basis points, citing high inflation, robust economic growth, and low unemployment rates.

In addition, the market widely believes that a substantial rate cut will not lock the Federal Reserve into any specific pace of future rate cuts, thereby pushing the US dollar to a near two-month high.Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan noted that there is meaningful uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, but she believes she favors a small rate cut in the future.

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins emphasized that policy does not follow a predetermined path and will continue to rely on data, and it is very important to maintain a healthy labor market condition.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly indicated that there may be one or two more rate cuts this year, but pointed out that the 50 basis points cut in September does not indicate the size of the next rate cut.

Traders are now pricing in a higher likelihood that the Federal Reserve will only lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points in November, with a more than 20% chance of keeping interest rates unchanged in November.

Yields on interest rate-sensitive two-year U.S. government bonds soared to the highest since August 19, and the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield climbed to the highest level since July 31.

Investors remain cautious about the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promising that strikes against the latter will be "lethal, precise, and surprising."

This, coupled with some repositioning of trades ahead of the key U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, provided some support for safe-haven gold prices in Asian trading on Thursday.

Technical Outlook: Gold prices need to find acceptance below the $2,600 mark for bears to take control.

From a technical perspective, a break below the $2,630 area this week (representing the lower boundary of the short-term trading range) is seen as a key trigger for bearish traders. That said, the oscillator on the daily chart - although losing traction - is still in positive territory. In addition, gold prices have so far successfully remained above the $2,600 mark. This makes it prudent to wait for a sustained breakout and acceptance below the stated handle before preparing for deeper losses. Then, gold/dollar may extend losses to the next relevant support near the $2,560 area, then head to the $2,535-2,530 area, and ultimately fall to the psychological $2,500 mark.

On the other hand, the trading range support break near the $2,630-2,635 area now appears to be a direct obstacle. Any further rise may be seen as a selling opportunity and remain near the level obstacle at $2,657-2,658. Sustained strength after the latter may push gold prices higher to the supply area of $2,670-2,672, above which bulls may aim to challenge the historical high near the $2,685-2,686 area touched in September. Following that is the $2,700 mark, and clearing that mark would lay the foundation for the continuation of the established multi-month upward trend.Please provide the text you would like me to translate into English.