PRECIOUS-Gold inches up ahead of Fed verdict, silver powers to fresh records above $60

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Silver hits record high of $61.46/oz

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Silver crossed $60/oz for the first time on Tuesday

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White House adviser Hassett says 'plenty of room' to cut rates

(Updates for Asia morning session trade)

By Ishaan Arora

Dec 10 (Reuters) -

Gold inched higher on Wednesday as investors prepared to parse Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's guidance on the day when the bank is expected to cut interest rates, while silver continued to push its record-breaking run above $60 an ounce.

Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $4,215.61 per ounce, as of 0309 GMT. U.S. gold futures for February delivery rose 0.2% to $4,244.70 per ounce.

Spot silver was up 0.6% at $61.06/oz after hitting an all-time high of $61.46 earlier in the session. It built on its Tuesday's break above the $60 threshold driven by depleted inventories and firm industrial demand.

"What we're seeing on spot gold is not much change, it's still range-bound, and people are just looking at the Fed interest rates tonight, and whether there'll be further news (on the monetary policy path)," GoldSilver Central MD Brian Lan said.

The two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting concludes with a rate decision at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, followed by Powell's press conference at 1930 GMT. Investors are currently pricing in an 88.6% chance of a 25-basis-point cut.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, a top contender for Fed chair, said on Tuesday there is "plenty of room" for more

rate cuts

but noted that rising inflation could shift that outlook.

Non-yielding assets such as gold tend to perform well in low-interest-rate environments.

"Many at this moment are interested in silver, since it is (finally) catching up with gold. The (gold-silver) ratio has come down sharply, and there is (a lot of) demand for silver across major markets, including India," Lan said.

Sectors like solar energy, electric vehicles and their infrastructure, and data centers and artificial intelligence will drive industrial demand higher through 2030, the Silver Institute industry association said in a research report on Tuesday.

Silver prices have seen support from dwindling global inventories, high demand, expectations of the Fed easing interest rates, as well as its recent addition to the U.S. critical minerals list.

Elsewhere, platinum lost 1.2% to $1,669.70, while palladium fell 0.2% to $1,503.26. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Harikrishnan Nair)