PRECIOUS-Gold hits record high on bets of further rate cuts ahead of Powell's address

By Ishaan Arora

Sept 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices climbed to a fresh record high on Tuesday, bolstered by increased expectations of further U.S. rate cuts, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech later in the day for further policy cues.

Spot gold XAU= rose 1% to $3,784.01 per ounce, as of 1011 GMT, after hitting a fresh record high of $3,790.82, earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery rose 1.1% to $3,817.70.

New Fed Governor Stephen Miran called for aggressive rate cuts on Monday, adding that the Fed was misreading how tight it has set monetary policy and will put the job market at risk, a view countered in remarks by three of his colleagues who feel the central bank needs to remain cautious about inflation.

"Miran’s dovish posture certainly heightens the expectation of greater rate cuts as it seems the U.S. administration is keen to push this, and this is a gold-positive outcome," said independent analyst Ross Norman.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors see two 25-basis point cuts, one each in October and December, with a 90% and 73% probability respectively.

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

"Gold is seeing good demand from institutional investors who are perhaps rotating out of equities as those markets peak, coupled with good demand from India," Norman added.

Physical gold premiums in India rose to a 10-month high this week as record prices near a festive season failed to deter investors from buying bullion in anticipation of further gains. GOL/AS

Norman also said that, in the short term, gold rates depended on sustained Indian demand, a rebound in Chinese buying, and whether the rise in ETF holdings proves durable.

SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.60% to 1,000.57 tons, a more than three-year high on Monday from Friday.

Spot silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $44.24 per ounce, hovering near a 14-year high. Platinum XPT= was up 1.5% at $1,437.56 and palladium XPD= rose 1.9% to $1,201.

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