PRECIOUS-Gold prices ease as investors brace for upcoming US jobs data

By Pablo Sinha

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of U.S. jobs data, expected later in the day, which could offer clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut outlook.

Spot gold XAU= lost 0.2% to $4,294.20 per ounce, as of 1300 GMT. Bullion has rallied 64% year-to-date. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were down 0.3% at $4,323.40.

"Gold is on the backfoot this morning as investors take profit ahead of key U.S. data that will shape Fed rate expectations next year," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, adding that weakness below the psychological $4,300 mark is also keeping bears in the picture.

The combined employment reports for October and November are in focus, though a number of key details will be missing due to a lack of data collection following the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 50,000 jobs in November after an anticipated decline in October, a Reuters survey of economists predicted, while the unemployment rate was estimated to come in at 4.4% last month.

Investors will also scrutinize November's Consumer Price Index and Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, due later this week, for further clues on monetary policy next year.

Non-yielding bullion typically thrives in lower-rate environments.

Spot silver XAG= fell 1.4% to $63.05 an ounce, after touching a record high of $64.65 on Friday.

"Silver remains influenced by the same forces pressuring gold — a wave of profit-taking and ETF outflows ahead of high-impact U.S. economic releases," said Otunuga.

The metal, however, is up 118% for the year, buoyed by physical market tightness, the same macroeconomic factors supporting gold, industrial demand and its inclusion in the U.S. critical minerals list.

Spot platinum XPT= rose 1.8% to $1,814.73, its highest level since September 2011, while palladium XPD= edged lower by 0.6% to $1,557.50, but hovered near a two-month high.

The European Commission is set to backtrack on the EU's ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035, a move that is "likely to be supportive for internal combustion vehicles, which use platinum and palladium," said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.

This year's gold and silver rally has also drawn investor attention to platinum and palladium, he said.