Gold prices declined on Monday, hovering around the key $2,500 mark, as traders took profits on expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut next month after gold prices climbed to an all-time high in the previous trading session.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at USD 2,502.78 per ounce at 03:17 GMT and US gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,541.80.

Excitement over a possible rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in September drove gold prices to an all-time high of $2,509.65 on Friday. Combined with rising geopolitical tensions and heavy central bank buying, this has already pushed gold prices up over 20% this year.

“Gold has been chasing the psychological $2,500 mark for several months, and now that it has reached that mark, we are seeing some natural profit-taking,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Last week, strong US retail sales and lower-than-expected unemployment figures, along with mild inflation data, restored confidence in the world’s largest economy.

Traders are confident that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, but the focus now is on the magnitude of the cut. According to the CME FedWatch tool, they calculate a 75.5% probability of a 25 basis point cut.

“Traders will be paying attention to the tone and language of Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole (on Friday) to fill in some gaps on this,” Waterer added.

The market will also be looking to the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting on Wednesday for further clues.

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest exchange-traded gold fund, rose nearly 1 percent on Friday. COMEX gold speculators also increased their net long position by 34,197 contracts in the week ended Aug. 13, data showed.

Several Chinese banks have received new gold import quotas from the central bank as they expect demand to recover despite record high prices.

Elsewhere, silver rose 0.2% to $29.08 per ounce, platinum rose 0.4% to USD 957.75 and palladium lost 0.4% to $947.13.