PRECIOUS-Gold eases as firmer dollar, hawkish Fed weigh on prices

* Fed held rates steady on Wednesday

* U.S. dollar index up 0.7%

* Hawkish Fed leaves gold with greater bias of dipping - analyst

* Platinum, palladium fall over 2% (Updates prices and comments)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

June 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Thursday, as a firmer dollar and hawkish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced the appeal of the non-yielding bullion.

Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,245.99 per ounce at 1122 GMT after falling 1.7% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures fell 2.6% to $4,265.50.

The U.S. dollar index firmed 0.7%. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday, but policymakers expect a hike in borrowing costs later this year amid growing concerns about inflation lodged above the central bank's target.Fed Chair Kevin Warsh also said he was launching a series of task forces to examine central bank operations more broadly.

"The hawkish Fed leaves spot gold with a greater bias of dipping back into sub-$4,000 waters rather than reclaiming the $5,000 handle in the second-half of 2026," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Bybit.

"With the Fed also reviewing its communications settings, this might leave gold susceptible to greater price reactions to U.S. economic data releases moving forward," he added.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now pricing in an 88% chance of a U.S. rate hike in December.

ANZ said in a note that "investment demand (for gold) is weak, with exchange-traded funds outflows and lighter positioning, but physical demand, especially from China, and central bank buying are underpinning the market."

Market focus also turned to the Middle East as the U.S. and Iran released the text of an interim agreement their presidents signed to end their war on Wednesday. However, President Donald Trump threatened to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honor their commitments.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 1% to $67.29 per ounce, platinum lost 2.1% to $1,701.02 and palladium was down 2.6% to $1,277.79. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Thomas Derpinghaus)