PRECIOUS-Gold at record-highs as dollar dips ahead of key Fed meet

By Ishaan Arora

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold rose to a record-high on Tuesday, helped by a softer dollar ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day, where the monetary authority is widely expected to cut interest rates.

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.5% to $3,696.02 per ounce, as of 0945 GMT. It hit a record high of $3,697.70 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery rose 0.4% to $3,733.80.

The dollar .DXY fell to a more than two-month low against rivals. USD/

"The weaker dollar plays a role but it is all connected to the expectation that the Fed will cut rates this week," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Traders are pricing in a near-certain 25-basis-point rate cut at the end of the two-day meeting on September 17, with a small chance of a 50-bp reduction, per the CME FedWatch tool.

U.S. President Donald Trump in a social media post on Monday called for Fed Chair Powell to enact a "bigger" rate cut.

Traders are betting that the Fed will continue to cut interest rates next year, which is also supporting gold, said Carlo Alberto De Casa, an external analyst at banking group Swissquote.

Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in a low-interest rate environment.

"Around the Fed statement release, we should see higher volatility, particularly if market participants perceive the rate cut coming with a hawkish statement. But with Trump's desire to see lower rates, I believe gold is likely to move higher from here over the coming months," Staunovo added.

Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court on Monday refused to allow Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook - the latest step in a legal battle that threatens the Fed's longstanding independence.

Gold's stellar rally to successive record highs shows all signs of continuing for the rest of 2025, but a healthy correction is on the cards before breaching $4,000/oz in 2026, traders and industry experts said on the sidelines of the India Gold Conference in New Delhi.

Elsewhere, spot silver XAG= fell 0.1% to $42.69 per ounce, platinum XPT= rose 0.1% to $1,402.39 and palladium XPD= rose 0.9% to $1,194.43.