U.S. CPI data due on Tuesday
Bullion hit record high just shy of 2,195 on Friday
UBS retains modestly positive outlook on platinum

March 11 Reuters Gold prices held steady on Monday after hitting a series of record highs last week, while investors waited for U.S. inflation data for insights into the Federal Reserve39;s rate cut timeline.

Spot gold was little changed at 2,176.30 per ounce at 1121 GMT, after hitting a record high for the fourth consecutive session on Friday at 2,194.99 as data indicated the U.S. labour market was slowing.

U.S. gold futures eased 0.1 to 2,183.20.

Gold continues to shine on expectations around the Fed cutting interest rates this year. Market could be waiting for the incoming U.S. inflation data, said FXTM senior research analyst Lukman Otunuga.

U.S. consumer price inflation CPI data for February is due on Tuesday.

Should the CPI print be hotterthanexpected, this could hit expectations around Fed rate cuts weakening gold as a result. A cool report is likely to boost appetite for the zeroyielding metal, Otunuga said.

Traders are pricing in a more than 70 chance that the Fed could start cutting interest rates by June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Reflecting bullish sentiment, COMEX gold speculators raised their net long positions by 63,018 contracts to 131,060 in the week ended March 5, data on Friday showed.

With large speculators having increased netlong exposure at their fastest weekly pace in 3.5 years last Tuesday,…