Gold holds below record high ahead of US data

Gold prices held below record levels on Thursday as investors looked forward to a slew of U.S. economic data that could offer more clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary easing path.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $2,674.96 per ounce, as of 0025 GMT. Prices rose to a session high of $2,685.16 on Wednesday, shy of the record $2,685.42 scaled on Sept. 26.


* U.S. gold futures were flat at $2,690.40.

* Market participants were awaiting U.S. retail sales and industrial production data for September and weekly jobless claims data, due later in the day.

* Data showed that U.S. import prices fell by the most in nine months in September, pointing to a benign inflation outlook that keeps the Fed on course to continue cutting interest rates.

* Traders see a 92.2% chance of a 25-basis-point (bp) rate cut by the U.S. central bank next month, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

* The European Central Bank is likely to lower interest rates again, arguing inflation in the euro zone is now increasingly under control and the economy is stagnating.

* Lower interest rates and geopolitical tensions tend to boost bullion's appeal.

* Any solution to the rapidly expanding regional conflict that has spread to Lebanon and beyond hinges on a resolution of the original crisis in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said on Wednesday.

* Spot silver rose 0.2% to $31.74 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.8% to $1,001.40 and palladium firmed 0.3% to $1,026.09.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0430 Japan Tertiary Ind Act NSA Aug

0900 EU Total Trade Balance SA Aug

0900 EU HICP Final MM Sept

0900 EU HICP Final YY Sept

1215 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Oct

1215 EU ECB Deposit Rate Oct

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 12 Oct, w/e

1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx Oct

1230 US Retail Sales MM Sept

1315 US Industrial Production MM Sept