• Gold price meets with some supply and snaps a nine-day winning streak to a record peak.
• The downtick could be attributed to some profit-taking ahead of the crucial US CPI report.
• Bets for a June Fed rate cut to keep the USD bulls on the defensive and should lend support.

Gold price (XAU/USD) edges lower during the Asian session on Tuesday, albeit lacks follow-through and remains well within the striking distance of the record peak touched last week. Traders opt to wait on the sidelines and look to the latest US consumer inflation figures for more clues about the Federal Reserve's (Fed) rate-cut path before placing fresh directional bets around the non-yielding yellow metal. In the meantime, growing acceptance that the US central bank will cut its key interest rate at the June policy meeting leads to a further decline in the US Treasury bond yields. This keeps the US Dollar (USD) bulls on the defensive and should act as a tailwind for the commodity.

Meanwhile, a spike in the US unemployment rate bolstered the case for an imminent shift in the US central bank's policy stance. That said, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, during his semi-annual congressional testimony last week, said that still-sticky inflation could prevent an early rate cut. Hence, a hotter US CPI print could allow the US central bank to signal fewer rate cuts this year and prompt some near-term selling around the Gold price. In contrast, a softer reading could fuel speculations about an early rate cut and provide a goodish lift to the XAU/USD. Nevertheless, the crucial data is likely to infuse volatility and produce short-term opportunities around the precious metal.