PRECIOUS-Gold extends falls on firm dollar, easing Fed rate-cut bets

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Gold fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, weighed down by a firm dollar and diminished prospects of a U.S. interest rate cut next month.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $4,038.43 per ounce, as of 0104 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery fell 0.9% to $4,037.50 per ounce.

The dollar .DXY held steady against its rivals after a sharp rise in the previous session. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for other currency holders. USD/

Last week, lawmakers reached an agreement to end what had become the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown, during which an absence of official economic data helped dampen expectations for another rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December.

Traders are currently pricing in a 43% probability of a quarter-point Fed rate cut next month, down from 50% in last week. FEDWATCH

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday the U.S. central bank needed to "proceed slowly" with further rate cuts, denting expectations for a decrease next month.

Non-yielding gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainties.

Focus this week will be on U.S. data releases, including the September nonfarm payrolls report on Thursday, for clues on the health of the world's largest economy.

SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.25% to 1,041.43 metric tons on Monday from 1,044.00 tons on Friday.

Central banks likely bought large amounts of gold in November in a multi-year trend to diversify reserves to hedge geopolitical and financial risks, Goldman Sachs said on Monday.

Elsewhere, spot silver XAG= eased 0.3% to $50.05 per ounce, platinum XPT= was steady at $1,534.70, and palladium XPD= fell 0.6% to $1,385.23.