Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar remained near two-month highs, with markets caught between profit-taking and prospects for further rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was steady at $2,652.72 per ounce at 1108 GMT while U.S. gold futures nudged up 0.1% to $2,669.20.
"We've got a U.S. dollar near two-month highs, higher Treasury yields and also the overwhelming temptation of profit taking as we go towards November after gold's nearly 30% gain so far this year, so in short gold's got some pretty fierce headwinds at the moment," independent analyst Ross Norman said. [USD/
Gold prices hit a record high of $2,685.42 last month, but shed some of those gains as the dollar (.DXY), opens new tab hovered near a more than two-month peak reached in the previous session, making bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
"Further rate cuts I think will continue to support gold and we'll probably see a fresh all-time high this side of the year end," Norman said.
Currently traders see about an 87% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in November, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Non-yielding gold thrives in a lower interest rate environment.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller called for "more caution" on rate cuts ahead but Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said more rate reductions are likely as the Fed's 2% inflation target looms in sight.
Market participants are also watching out for U.S. retail sales, industrial production data and weekly jobless claims this week.
Spot silver eased 0.1% to $31.14 per ounce. Platinum fell 1.2% to $980.78 and palladium was down 1.8% at $1,011.77.
"Scrap supply (for platinum) has disappointed in recent years, but we see room for a recovery next year. We still expect the platinum market to be under-supplied in 2025," UBS analysts said in an note.
Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans and Kirsten Donovan
