Although gold prices continued to rise, the current upswing in price was halted on Thursday as some ambiguity regarding the direction of US monetary policy was raised by better-than-expected retail sales figures.

Spot gold edged up by 0.2% to $1,963.26 per ounce, meanwhile gold futures advanced by 0.1% to $1,965.85 per ounce.

After two days of big increases, the yellow metal modestly declined on Wednesday as Treasury yields stopped the recent drops and the dollar recovered from a two-and-a-half-month low.

High-level U.S.-China talks between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in San Francisco helped to support the demand for gold as a safe haven. Given that both sides decided to reestablish military channels, it seemed that the summit had at least somewhat improved Sino-US relations.

U.S. retail spending remained strong in October, according to data that was released tonight. Given that the measurement may potentially portend stubborn price pressures in the upcoming months, it somewhat countered optimism on a recent fall in U.S. inflation. Even Nevertheless, inflation stayed far higher than the Fed's 2% annual target.