Dec 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Wednesday as traders awaited U.S. economic indicators to gauge the Federal Reserve’s policy direction while silver pulled back from a record high.
Spot gold fell 0.1% to $4,203.58 an ounce by 1128 GMT after losing more than 1% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up 0.3% at $4,234.60.
"Attention is on key U.S. data that could cement expectations for a metal-supportive December rate cut," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Investors are awaiting U.S. November ADP employment figures at 1315 GMT and the delayed September Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data on Friday.
Weaker U.S. economic data and dovish signals from Fed officials have reinforced expectations of a rate cut at the central bank's December 9-10 meeting, with brokerages projecting policy easing.
CME's FedWatch tool now shows an 87% chance of a rate cut next week.
Non-yielding gold tends to perform well when interest rates are low.
Meanwhile, silver fell 0.5% to $58.15 an ounce after touching a record high of $58.94.
Silver is supported by a tight supply outlook, continued momentum buying and short-covering after last Friday’s break above $54.50, said Hansen, adding that overbought conditions posed a near-term risk for silver bulls.
Silver, both a precious and industrial metal, is up by 101% this year and has also been supported by its inclusion in a U.S. list of critical minerals. Gold has gained 60% this year.
Elsewhere, platinum gained 0.6% to $1,647.75 an ounce while palladium lost 0.5% to $1,455.34.
Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman
