* U.S. CPI due at 1330 GMT
* Fed hesitant on rate cuts until more confidence on inflation
Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday as caution set in ahead of a U.S. inflation report due later in the day that could offer more clues on the timing of widely expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,026.19 per ounce, as of 0952 GMT, after briefly slipping to a more than two-week low of $2,011.72 per ounce on Monday.
U.S. gold futures were up 0.3% at $2,039.70 per ounce.
All eyes are on the January U.S. consumer price index (CPI) inflation data due at 13:30 GMT. Americans reported a fairly stable outlook for inflation at the start of the year, a New York Fed survey showed.
Wall Street economists expect year-on-year CPI to rise 2.9%, down from 3.4% in the previous month, according to a Reuters poll. Core CPI is also expected to have slowed its growth on a year-on-year basis in January to 3.7%.
"Lower CPI readings will support the price of the yellow metal, in anticipation of a sooner rate cut by the Fed, while a higher reading will weigh on the gold price," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
"We continue to see price dips below $2,000/ounce as an opportunity to add exposure to gold in anticipation of higher prices at the end of this year."
Several U.S. Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have said last week they want to see more evidence that inflation will continue to decline before cutting interest rates.
Traders see about a 56% chance of a rate cut in May, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.
Also on the radar, retail sales data is due on Thursday and producer price index (PPI) numbers on Friday, while markets also await comments from a slew of Fed officials this week.
Spot platinum was up 0.7% at $895.00 per ounce, palladium rose 2.1% to $911.04, and silver was up 0.9% at $22.89 per ounce.
(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
