Gold prices neared record highs in Asian trading on Thursday, marking their third consecutive day of gains as investors look towards the release of U.S. retail sales data, which could provide the next catalyst for a further rise in gold prices.
By 2:50 pm AEDT (3:50 am GMT) spot gold prices were trading 0.1% higher at 2,676.7.
Meanwhile, China's Housing Minister announced plans to increase credit for key real estate projects to 4 trillion yuan by the end of the year, alongside efforts to renovate a million homes.
However, these measures failed to significantly boost Chinese equity markets, tempering optimism about the country’s economic recovery.
Gold's rally has also been curbed by a modest rise in U.S. Treasury yields, though the weaker dollar continues to provide overall support.
In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to lower rates again, as inflation in the eurozone is seen to be increasingly under control, while British inflation slowed sharply last month, reinforcing bets of a Bank of England rate cut.