Jan 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched higher in early Asian trade on Thursday as investors weighed chances of the U.S. Federal Reserve slowing its pace of interest rate hikes.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,907.18 per ounce, as of 0028 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,909.40.
* Few Fed officials signalled on Wednesday that they would push on with more interest rate hikes. However, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said they supported a slower rate-hike pace.
* Traders are mostly pricing in a 25-basis point rate hike in February. The U.S. central bank increased rates by 75 bps four times last year, before slowing to a 50-bp increase in December.
* Lower interest rates tend to be beneficial for bullion, decreasing the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
* Data on Wednesday showed U.S. producer prices fell more than expected in December, offering more evidence that inflation was receding.
* U.S. retail sales fell by the most in a year in December, putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a weaker growth path heading into 2023.
* Spot silver gained 0.1% to $23.44 per ounce, platinum was flat at $1,038.31, and palladium unchanged at $1,718.61.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0030 Australia Employment Dec
0030 Australia Unemployment Rate Dec
1330 US Housing Starts Humber Dec
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1330 US Philly Fed Business Indx Jan (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
