PRECIOUS-Gold kicks off 2025 on positive note, Fed and Trump policy in focus

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Gold kicked off the New Year on a positive note after a stellar 2024, as market participants waited for more clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook and President-elect Donald Trump's tariff policies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $2,625.48 per ounce, as of 0014 GMT on Thursday.

* Bullion emerged as one of the top-performing assets in 2024, surging more than 27% in its largest annual gain since 2010.

* The rally was fuelled by central bank buying, geopolitical tensions, and monetary policy easing by major global banks.

* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.1% to $2,639.60 on Thursday.

* Traders anticipate the Fed to adopt a slow and cautious approach to further rate cuts in 2025, as inflation continues to exceed the central bank's 2% annual target.

* According to the CME's FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in an 11.2% chance of a U.S. rate cut in January, with an 88.8% chance of a status quo.

* Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical and economic uncertainty, but elevated interest rates diminish its appeal as a non-yielding asset.

* Traders await initial U.S. jobless claims data due later in the day, along with next week's U.S. job openings data, ADP employment report, Fed meeting minutes, and employment report for further direction.

* Spot silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $28.98 per ounce and palladium XPD= added 0.6% to $909.00, while platinum XPT= shed 0.1% to $909.32.

* Silver rose nearly 22% in 2024 to post its best year since 2020, while platinum and palladium ended the previous year with losses, shedding more than 8% and 17%, respectively.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0145 China Caixin Mfg PMI Final Dec

0700 UK Nationwide House Price MM, Nationwide House Price YY Dec

0850 France HCOB Manufacturing PMI Dec

0855 Germany HCOB Mfg PMI Dec

0900 EU HCOB Mfg Final PMI Dec

0930 UK S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Dec

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm 28 Dec, w/e

1445 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Fina

(Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((Daksh.Grover@thomsonreuters.com;))