PRECIOUS-Gold surges to new peak on safe-haven demand, Fed rate cut bets

By Noel John

Sept 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices climbed to a fresh record high on Tuesday, aided by safe haven flows amid geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.8% to $3,777.80 per ounce as of 01:45 p.m. ET (1745 GMT), after hitting a fresh record high of $3,790.82 earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery settled 1.1% higher at $3,815.7.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR fell 0.2%, while the U.S. dollar was largely steady. US/ USD/

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank faces a "challenging situation" with ongoing risks of faster-than-expected inflation while weak job growth raises concerns about labor market health.He offered little clarity on when the Fed might next cut interest rates.

"The gold market recognized that there was nothing significant in his speech compared to the tone set last week, nothing significant enough to change the upside path in gold," said RJO Futures market strategist Bob Haberkorn.

Traders still expect U.S. rate cuts in October and December after the Fed reduced rates by 25 basis points earlier this month.

Attention now shifts to Friday's release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

Meanwhile, NATO warned Russia that it would use "all necessary military and non-military tools" to defend itself as it condemned Moscow for violating Estonian airspace in "a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour".

Strong buying interest from ETF investors - driven by expectations of rate cuts, concerns around the Fed's independence and geopolitical developments - are also likely giving gold prices a boost, Commerzbank said in a note.

The People's Bank of China is leveraging the Shanghai Gold Exchange to encourage central banks from friendly nations to purchase and store bullion within its borders, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Spot silver XAG= rose 0.2% to $44.17 per ounce, hovering near a 14-year high. Meanwhile, Platinum XPT= rose 4.5% to $1,480.97, its highest level since 2014 and palladium XPD= rose 2.8% to $1,212.