Gold price sticks to modest intraday losses amid bullish USD; downside seems limited

• Gold price snaps a two-day winning to a multi-week top amid the Fed’s hawkish stance. 
• Retreating US bond yields undermine the USD and lend some support to the XAU/USD pair.
• Traders look to Fed speakers for some impetus ahead of the US NFP report on Friday.

Gold price (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on its gains registered over the past two days and attracts some sellers during the Asian session on Thursday. The prospects for slower rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) assist the US Dollar (USD) to stand firm near a two-year high touched last week and turn out to be a key factor weighing on the non-yielding yellow metal. That said, the cautious market mood, geopolitical risks and trade war fears continue to support the safe-haven commodity.

The flight to safety triggers a modest pullback in the US Treasury bond yields. This, in turn, holds back the USD bulls from placing fresh bets and contributes to limiting the downside for the  Gold price. Investors might also opt to wait on the sidelines ahead of the closely-watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday. In the meantime, speeches by a slew of influential FOMC members will be looked upon for short-term trading opportunities later during the US session this Thursday.