PRECIOUS-Gold prices ease on firmer Treasury yields, US data in focus

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Gold touched six-week peak on Monday

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88% chance of a rate cut in December - CME FedWatch

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Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields near two-week peak

(Updates prices for Asia mid-session trade)

By Ishaan Arora

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Tuesday after touching a six-week high in the previous session, as rising U.S. Treasury yields and profit-taking weighed on prices, while investors awaited U.S. economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path.

Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,216.13 per ounce by 0436 GMT, after hitting its highest level since October 21 on Monday.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.7% at $4,246.60 per ounce.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hovered close to a two-week high touched in the previous session, reducing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

"Gold is having a soft performance today, but the fundamental picture has not changed - a picture which includes anticipated U.S. rate cuts, which should be supportive of gold from a yield point of view," said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

Markets are acting cautiously as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is not expected to sound as dovish as some of his colleagues, and the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - on Friday is expected to remain fairly benign, Waterer said.

Powell, in remarks prepared for an address at Stanford University late on Monday, did not comment on the economy or monetary policy.

Investors are now awaiting key U.S. data this week, including Wednesday's November ADP employment report and Friday's delayed September PCE Index.

Traders are pricing in an 88% chance of a Fed rate cut in December, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said he is willing to serve as Fed chair, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flagged a possible pre-Christmas nomination. Hassett, like President Donald Trump, wants lower rates.

Lower interest rates typically benefit non-yielding gold.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.44% to 1,050.01 metric tons on Monday from 1,045.43 tons on Friday.

Silver fell 1.5% to $57.10 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.5% to $1,649.72, and palladium was down 0.5% at $1,417.0. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)