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Fed's Powell strikes middle path on inflation, jobs

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Gold's medium and short-term trends support bullish

outlook,

analyst say

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US Personal Consumption Expenditures index data due on

Friday

(Updates for the Asia morning hours)

By Anmol Choubey

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Wednesday as investors

booked profits after hitting a record high in the previous

session, while markets weighed U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell's cautious remarks on potential interest rate cuts.

Spot gold slipped 0.3% at $3,753.22 per ounce, as of

0224 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $3,790.82 on Tuesday.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.8% to

$3,785.90.

Powell said on Tuesday the central bank needed to continue

balancing the competing risks of high inflation and a weakening

job market in coming rate decisions, even as his colleagues

staked out arguments on both sides of the policy divide.

Gold is currently being influenced by overbought technical

indicators leading to profit-taking and the Powell's balanced

speech, which lacked clear hints on future rate hikes, OANDA

senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.

Gold's relative strength index (RSI) stood at 78, indicating

that the metal was overbought.

"We may see a minor dip in gold prices today. However, both

medium-term and short-term trends continue to support a bullish

outlook," Wong said.

The U.S. weekly initial jobless claims report is due on

Thursday, followed by the Personal Consumption Expenditures

index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, on Friday.

"If Friday's data indicates inflation is rising more than

policymakers might prefer, possibly due to tariffs, it could

exert downward pressure on gold," said Capital.com analyst Kyle

Rodda.

Markets anticipate two more 25-basis-point rate cuts this

year, with a 93% probability in October and a 77% probability in

December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, NATO warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use

"all necessary military and non-military tools" to defend

itself, as U.S. President Donald Trump shifted rhetoric by

asserting Ukraine could recover all territory occupied by

Russia.

Spot silver lost 0.7% at $43.72 per ounce, platinum

fell 0.2% to $1,475.78 and palladium edged down

0.1% to $1,218.54.