PRECIOUS-Gold slips as profit-taking, softer geopolitical tone hit safe-haven demand

By Ishaan Arora

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday as investors booked profits after the yellow metal hit a record in the previous session, while an apparent softer tone from U.S. President Donald Trump on the Federal Reserve chair and Iran also dampened safe-haven demand.

Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3% at $4,608.77 per ounce, as of 0652 GMT. Bullion hit a record $4,642.72 on Wednesday.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for February delivery fell 0.5% to $4,613.0.

"Today, we're seeing that gold is down a bit after (Trump) said maybe we're not going to intervene in Iran, staving off safe-haven demand, but the larger story (of the metal's rise) is not going away," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

With Iran's leadership trying to quell the worst domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution, Tehran threatened U.S. military bases in the region, in an attempt to deter Trump's repeated threats of military intervention.

At the White House, however, Trump suggested he was adopting a wait-and-see posture toward the crisis.

Meanwhile, the president said on Wednesday that he has no plans to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, despite the Justice Department criminal investigation, but added it was "too early" to say what he would ultimately do.

The U.S. weekly jobless claims for the first week of January will be released later in the day, which could provide clues on the Fed's monetary policy path. Traders anticipate two interest rate cuts this year. FEDWATCH

A low-interest-rate environment, geopolitical and economic uncertainty traditionally favour non-yielding assets such as gold.

Spot silver XAG= slid 3.4% to $89.63 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $93.57 earlier in the session.

Spot platinum XPT= receded 2.6% to $2,321.65 per ounce after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 on December 29.

Palladium XPD= lost 1.3% to $1,804.10 per ounce and hovered near a one-week low.