PRECIOUS-Gold slips as upbeat US data boosts dollar, dims rate-cut bets

• Gold, silver and platinum poised for weekly gains
• People say protests in Iran have abated since Monday
• SPDR Gold Trust holdings up at 3-1/2 year highs on Thursday

By Ishaan Arora

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Gold extended its losses on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data dampened expectations of the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting interest rates sooner and softening geopolitical frictions shrunk safe-haven demand for the metal.

Spot gold XAU= eased 0.4% to $4,598.52 per ounce by 0426 GMT. However, the metal is poised for a weekly gain of about 2% after scaling a record peak of $4,642.72 on Wednesday.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for February delivery fell 0.5% to $4,601.80.

"The downward move (in gold) began predominantly when there was some ... (lowering of) the odds of some kind of intervention by the United States in the social unrest in Iran ... (and) we're seeing data come through from the U.S., it shows that there's not an urgency to cut interest rates," said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com.

The dollar was poised for a third weekly gain after data from the U.S. Labor Department showed weekly initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000, below the 215,000 expected by a Reuters poll of economists. USD/

A firmer dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for other currency holders. Low-interest-rate environments generally favour non-yielding bullion.

People inside Iran, reached by Reuters on Wednesday and Thursday, said protests appeared to have abated since Monday while U.S. President Donald Trump also struck a softer tone regarding military intervention against the country.

SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings nudged 0.05% higher to 1,074.80 tons on Thursday, its highest in over 3-1/2 years. GOL/ETF

Silver has turned into the most crowded commodity trade in the market, according to a report by Vanda Research on Thursday, as individual investors have been snapping up silver at an extraordinary pace.

Spot silver XAG= shed 1.8% to $90.70 per ounce, although it was headed for a weekly gain of over 13% after hitting an all-time high of $93.57 in the previous session.

Spot platinum XPT= dropped 2.8% to $2,342.14 per ounce, while palladium XPD= lost 2.3% to $1,759.07 per ounce, after hitting a one-week low earlier.