PRECIOUS-Gold eases as dollar gains, Fed rate cut bets lend support

* Fed's Williams says rate cuts not on horizon yet * Silver hit its highest in over three years * Platinum hits near one-year peak (Updates prices as of 1817 GMT) By Rahul Paswan May 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as the dollar rebounded, although signs of cooling U.S. inflation cemented hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year and kept bullion near the one-month peak. Spot gold XAU= fell 0.3% to $2,379.60 per ounce as of 1817 GMT, after hitting its highest since April 19 earlier in the session. Bullion rose more than 1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for June delivery settled 0.4% lower at 2385.50 per ounce. "Gold market is seeing some routine profit taking pressure by the short term futures traders after the recent gains, while the firmer U.S. dollar Index today is also adding to that pressure," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals. The dollar .DXY rose 0.2% against its rivals after hitting a multi-month low in the previous session after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in April. USD/ A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for other currency holders. Meanwhile, Fed Bank of New York President John Williams said that positive news around cooling inflation is not enough to call for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates sometime soon. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. Market participants are pricing in a roughly 68% chance that the Fed will cut rates in September, according to CME's FedWatch tool. "Weaker US dollar, declining US Treasury yields as well as elevated geopolitical tensions offered support to gold over the past week and we expect gold prices to stay above $2,250/oz in the coming months," Fitch Solutions analysis unit BMI said in a note. Spot silver XAG= fell 0.2% to $29.63 per ounce after hitting its highest since February 2021 earlier in the session. Palladium XPD= lost about 2% to $989.62, while platinum XPT= fell 0.3% to $1,060.90 after hitting a one-year high earlier in the session. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Spot gold price in USD per oz https://reut.rs/3yoTAVa ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Ravi Prakash Kumar) (([email protected] ; If within U.S. +1 646 223 8780;;))