• Gold price attracts some follow-through buyers for the second successive day on Friday.
• Fed rate cut bets keep the USD on the defensive and lend support to the precious metal.
• Diminishing odds for a more aggressive Fed easing might cap gains ahead of the US PPI.

Gold price (XAU/USD) builds on the previous day's mixed US macro data-inspired recovery from the $2,600 neighborhood or a nearly three-week low and gains positive traction for the second straight day on Friday. US data published on Thursday showed that the annual rise in the headline US Consumer Price Index (CPI) was the lowest since February 2021 and a surge in the weekly jobless claims. This, in turn, suggested that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will continue cutting interest rates, which keeps the US Dollar (USD) bulls on the defensive below the highest level since mid-August and benefits the non-yielding yellow metal.

Meanwhile, the markets now seem to have fully priced out the possibility of a more aggressive easing by the Fed and another oversized interest rate cut in November. The expectations were reaffirmed by the September FOMC meeting minutes, which, in turn, acts as a tailwind for the Greenback and might cap the Gold price. This, along with hopes that China will announce more fiscal stimulus measures on Saturday to boost growth in the world’s second-largest economy, might keep a lid on the safe-haven precious metal. This, in turn, warrants some caution for aggressive bullish traders ahead of the release of the US Producer Price Index (PPI).