PRECIOUS-Gold firms as June rate cut bets still intact

* Bullion posted its worst-day since Feb. 13 on Tuesday * U.S. producer price index due on Thursday (Rewrites as of 1047 GMT) By Sherin Elizabeth Varghese March 13 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after dropping more than 1% in the previous session, as investors digested hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data and still banked on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in June. Spot gold XAU= edged up 0.3% to $2,163.12 per ounce, as of 1047 GMT. Bullion posted its worst single-day drop since Feb. 13 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.1% to $2,168.50. "The market driver behind the decline of gold is quite clear as the U.S. CPI numbers came in higher than expected," said Carlo Alberto De Casa, market analyst at Kinesis Money. "It's just a physiological correction after a long strike of positive days and markets are realizing that the Fed will not cut rates too quickly." Bullion slumped 1.1% on Tuesday as data indicated that U.S. consumer prices rose sharply in February, above expectations and indicating some inflation stickiness. Higher-than-expected inflation means that the US Fed will be under more pressure to keep interest rates higher for longer, weighing on non-yielding assets such as gold. However, Fed policymakers are still seen starting interest-rate cuts in June, even as a government report showed consumer prices rose last month more than expected. Traders now see about a 65% chance of a interest rate cut from the Fed in June, slight lower from the 72% seen before the data, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. "While physical gold demand has been holding up well since 2021, a sharp price rally is likely to temper discretionary gold buying in 2024," analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a note. Focus now shifts to U.S. retail sales, producer price index, and weekly initial jobless claims print due on Thursday, which will provide a further update on the status of the US economy. Spot platinum XPT= rose 1.2% to $934.85 per ounce, palladium XPD= gained 2.7% to $1,069.50 and silver XAG= was up 0.5% at $24.27. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gold vs US CPI as of Feb'24 https://tmsnrt.rs/3T7zC7O Spot gold price in USD per oz https://reut.rs/3Te2lIg ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) (([email protected];))