Spot gold was flat at $2,655.03 per ounce and U.S. gold futures added 0.2% to $2,675.40

Gold prices were trading in a tight range on Thursday as traders remained on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. economic data that may provide clues about the size of the Fed’s interest rate cuts expected later this year.

Spot gold was flat at $2,655.03 per ounce by 0333 GMT. Prices reached a record high of $2,685.42 on September 26.

U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% at $2,675.40.

Gold is consolidating at this point of time but expect prices will retest the all-time high of $2,685 as charts show persistent strong upward trends, according to Brian Lan at Singapore-based dealer GoldSilver Central.

Investors are watching out for the ISM services data and the initial jobless claims, due later in the day, along with the U.S. non-farm payroll data expected on Friday.

Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. private payrolls rose more than expected in September – further evidence that labour market conditions were not deteriorating.

Expectations of another 50 bps rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s November meeting have dampened, with markets currently pricing in a 36% probability, down from 57% last week, as per CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Gold tends to thrive in a low interest rate environment and political turmoil.

Middle East tensions and U.S. elections will continue supporting bullion in the longer term. In the short-tem, some funds might shift to oil from gold since oil is doing better, Lan said.

Elsewhere, Perth Mint’s gold product sales reached a 10-month high in September, while silver sales touched a seven-month peak.

Spot silver declined 0.9% to $31.58, platinum dropped 0.5% to $997.90 and palladium skidded 1.3% to $1,001.80.