PRECIOUS-Gold falls on investor caution ahead of key US economic data

By Ishaan Arora

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Tuesday, though held above the $5,000-per-ounce level, as investors stayed cautious ahead of key U.S. jobs and inflation data due later this week that would provide cues to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold XAU= fell 0.7% to $5,029.49 per ounce by 0332 GMT. The metal gained 2% on Monday, as the dollar weakened to a more than one-week low. It had scaled a record high of $5,594.82 per ounce on January 29.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery lost 0.5% to $5,052.0 per ounce.

Spot silver XAG= was down 2.1% at $81.64/oz, after rising nearly 7% in the previous session. It had hit an all-time high of $121.64 on January 29.

"The cold-war, economic competition between the U.S. and China, that's not going away anytime probably for years to come ... so we're in a situation where gold has something of a built-in upside bias broadly, and now it's a question of just how much will short-term Fed policy expectations matter," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

The U.S. dollar nursed steep losses on Tuesday, while the yen held on to its gains in the wake of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's resounding election victory. USD/

Spivak added that gold is being pulled back to the $5,000 level from both the upper and lower price ranges while silver is showing more volatility on speculative trading.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that U.S. job gains could be lower in the coming months due to slower labor force growth and higher productivity, weighing into a debate that is also underway at the Federal Reserve.

Data expected this week includes monthly retail sales for December, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January, and the nonfarm payrolls report for January.

Spot platinum XPT= shed 2.1% to $2,084.09 per ounce, while palladium XPD= lost 1.7% to $1,710.75.