Gold prices fell nearly 1% on Thursday as investors booked profits ahead of the release of U.S. economic data that could provide more clues on when and by how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.

Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA, said that from a fundamental perspective, there is nothing weighing on gold prices, so we seem to be seeing some profit-taking. From a technical perspective, gold prices may continue to fall.

The market is waiting for the release of U.S. GDP data at 20:30 Beijing time tonight and the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure PCE data on Friday to adjust its expectations for the timing of rate cuts. Traders expect the Fed to launch its long-awaited rate cut in September.

Wong said gold prices would rebound if personal consumption expenditure data showed that inflation was slowing and the Federal Reserve was likely to cut interest rates in September.