Oct 2 (Reuters) - Gold inched lower on Wednesday, hitting a pause after rallying more than 1% in the previous session, as traders hunkered down for more U.S. economic cues and developments on the Middle East conflict.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $2,649.12 per ounce by 11:55 a.m. ET (1555 GMT). Prices had jumped over 1% on Tuesday after Iran launched missile strikes on Israel.
U.S. gold futures eased 0.7% to $2,670.90.
Further limiting gold's run was strength in rival safe-haven dollar (.DXY), which made greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
Gold is seeing a bit of a sell-off on a stronger U.S. dollar, but "there's too much ahead of us, too many unknowns right now in the next 24 hours to be selling gold", said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
"It's very reasonable to see prices go north of $2,700 per ounce, if Israel does in fact strike Iran."
Gold has climbed over 28% so far this year and was still within sight of its record high of $2,685.42 per ounce as fears of more escalation in the Middle East lingered, including retaliation by Israel.
Bullion is considered a safe investment during times of political uncertainty and thrives in a low interest rate environment.
Longer term, the outlook for real interest rates is going to drive gold, Daniel Hynes, senior ANZ commodities strategist, said in a note.
Traders see a 64% chance of a 25-basis-point cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve in November.
Private payrolls increased by 143,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed.
Traders now await nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday, while also keeping an eye on commentary from Fed officials for any clues on the central bank's policy path.
Among other metals, silver rose 1% to $31.72. Platinum gained 2% to $1,005.83 and palladium added 2.2% to $1,016.50.
Reporting by Anjana Anil and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shailesh Kuber
