U.S. economy shows strength, causing gold to decline.

On Thursday, gold prices dropped from a two-week high due to jobless claims data showing a robust economy, as investors waited for additional economic data to determine the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.

The price of gold remained unchanged at $2,024.73 an ounce after reaching its highest since February 9th of $2,034.69 earlier in the session.

settled 0.2% lower to $2030.7.

U.S. Treasury yields gained, making bullion more expensive for other currency holders.

If the U.S. economy shows more positive data and inflation does not continue to ease, Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at EverBank, believes that gold will stay at these levels and there will be more downside risks in the short term than upside potential.

Last week, the number of new unemployment claims filed by Americans unexpectedly decreased, indicating that job growth probably continued in February.

The Fed's latest policy meeting minutes released on Wednesday revealed that most central bank policymakers are worried about the dangers of reducing interest rates too quickly.

The likelihood of a June rate cut, as indicated by the CME Fed Watch Tool, increases the attractiveness of holding non-yielding gold when interest rates are lowered.

According to Gaffney, gold's safe-haven status is supported by geopolitical risks, and technical charts indicate that gold has established a "pretty hard floor" at approximately $2000 level.

Gaza's south has seen an increase in conflict due to Israel's bombardment of Rafah.

Currently, investors are not adequately prepared for a Fed cutting cycle, and gold prices are expected to increase significantly in the second quarter of this year, according to Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

Platinum, palladium, and other precious metals experienced varying price changes. Platinum increased by 1.8% to $899.11 per ounce, while palladium rose by 2.1% to $969.72. However, palladium also lost 0.6% to $22.73.