PRECIOUS-Gold eases after hitting record, safe-haven flows strong

Updates with EMEA mid session trading

By Anjana Anil and Sarah Qureshi

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices hovered near an all-time high on Tuesday, as fears of a trade war and instability amid U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans drove safe-haven flows.

Spot gold XAU= fell 0.4% to $2,938.63 an ounce by 1125 GMT, after reaching $2,956.15 on Monday — its eleventh record high this year.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 declined 0.3% to $2,953.30.

"I would call it a range trading environment in precious metals, driven by uncertainty of if and what tariffs are enacted by the Trump administration as we approach the end of the month," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Trump said on Monday tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports were "on time and on schedule" despite efforts by the countries to beef up border security and halt the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. ahead of a March 4 deadline.

"Mexico and Canada are large mine producers of gold and silver, so if both metals are not exempted it would result in a likely further widening of the spread between U.S. and London prices," Staunovo said.

Fears of a looming trade war, ignited by Trump's tariff strategy, have sent safe-haven gold soaring past the historic $2,950/oz threshold.

Meanwhile, investors and economists expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to respond "strongly and systematically" to changes in inflation and the labor market, according to research published on Monday by the San Francisco Fed that underscores the current sensitivity of financial markets to U.S. economic data.

Higher inflation may force the Fed to keep rates higher, tarnishing non-yielding gold's appeal.

Investors now await Friday's release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, for insights into the central bank's rate-easing path and monetary policy.

Spot silver XAG= shed 0.6% to $32.14 an ounce, platinum XPT= dropped 0.3% to $964.05 and palladium XPD= lost 0.3% to $937.44.