PRECIOUS-Gold eases from record high; key US data in focus

Updates with mid-session trading

By Daksh Grover

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased from record highs on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated he was in no rush to cut interest rates, while the focus shifted to U.S. inflation data and trade tariffs.

Spot gold XAU= eased 0.5% to $2,884.51 per ounce by 1137 GMT. Prices climbed to a record high of $2,942.70 on Tuesday amid fears of a global trade war spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh tariffs and threats of more duties.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.8% to $2,910.10.

"Powell's comments might have taken a little steam out of the market today. I would not say they're hugely negative. But gold is still being driven by the broader uncertainty," said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.

Fed Chair Powell, in his first appearance before Congress since Trump's inauguration, expressed confidence in the U.S. economy's resilience and indicated that the Fed was not in a hurry to cut interest rates but stood ready to act if inflation cools further, or the job market weakens.

Gold is often seen as a safeguard against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, but rising interest rates reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets.

Meanwhile, after raising steel and aluminium tariffs to 25% earlier this week, Trump's advisers are now finalising plans for reciprocal tariffs.

Investors are closely watching the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due at 1330 GMT. The print is expected to show a 0.3% rise in consumer prices in January after December's 0.4% increase, according to a Reuters poll.

Attention will also be on Thursday's Producer Price Index (PPI) data and Powell's testimony before Congress later in the day.

"We haven't had any decisive data showing inflation has come down... If we were to get a punchier number, then it can lift gold a little bit higher," Shah said.

Spot silver XAG= shed 0.2% to $31.77 per ounce and palladium XPD= fell 1.16% to $964.50, while platinum XPT= added 0.5% to $988.30.