Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gold took a breather on Monday after piercing the key $2,500 ceiling in the previous session, as investors booked profits from the record run and positioned for more cues from the Federal Reserve and developments in the Middle East.
Spot gold was down 0.4% at $2,497.28 per ounce as of 10:06 a.m. ET (1406 GMT), shy of the record high of $2,509.65 hit on Friday. U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $2,535.50.
"Gold might have gotten too far, too fast on the upside and we believe there's an opportunity for a further pullback," especially considering the Fed is unlikely to hit at anything more than a quarter-point rate cut, said David Meger, director of alternative investments and trading at High Ridge Futures.
Traders currently see a 75.5% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, opens new tab.
Focus was now on minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting on Wednesday and Chair Jerome Powell's speech at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole on Friday.
Gold may fall into the $2,479-$2,487 range following its failure to break resistance at $2,507, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
But UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said gold could still go even higher in the coming months, likely reaching $2,600/oz by end-year, adding all eyes will be on any indication of an imminent rate cut from Powell.
On the physical front, several Chinese banks have been given new gold import quotas from the central bank, anticipating revived demand despite record high prices.
Gold demand remains potent as geopolitical tensions, particularly from the Israel-Iran-Hamas conflict, was driving safe-haven demand, Achilleas Georgolopoulos, investment analyst at forex broker XM, wrote in a note.
Silver rose 0.6% to $29.17 per ounce. While platinum eased 0.1% to $953.38 and palladium shed 2.9% to $922.74.
Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona
