Gold rose on Wednesday, holding near record highs set in the previous session, while silver set another all-time high, ‍nearing the $90 mark, as softer-than-expected ‍U.S. inflation readings cemented U.S. interest rate cut bets.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose ​0.6% to $4,615.85 per ounce as of 0211 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $4,634.33 on Tuesday.

* ⁠U.S. gold futures for February delivery rose 0.5% to $4,624.0.

* The U.S. core Consumer Price Index rose ⁠0.2% month-on-month and ‌2.6% year-on-year in December, lifted by higher costs for rents and food, as some of the distortions related to the government shutdown that had artificially ⁠lowered inflation in November, but it fell short of analysts' expectations of a 0.3% and 2.7% increase, respectively.

* U.S. President Donald Trump also welcomed the inflation figures, reiterating his push for the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates "meaningfully."

* Global ⁠central bank chiefs and top Wall ​Street bank CEOs lined up in support of Powell on Tuesday after news of the Trump administration's decision to ‍investigate him drew condemnation from former Fed chiefs and a chorus of criticism from key members of the Republican ​Party.

* Analysts say worries of Fed independence and regarding trust in U.S. assets have added to safe-haven demand for the yellow metal.

* Investors and major brokerages such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley expect two 25-basis-point rate cuts each this year, with the earliest one coming in June.

* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during geopolitical or economic uncertainties.

* In geopolitics, Trump on Tuesday urged Iranians to keep protesting and remember the names of those abusing them, saying 'help is on its way', as Iran saw its ⁠biggest demonstrations in years.

* Spot silver gained 3.1% to $89.63 per ‌ounce after hitting an all-time high of $89.99 earlier in the session.

* Spot platinum climbed 3.5% to $2,405.30 per ounce, a one-week high, after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 on December 29.

* ‌Palladium was ⁠up 1.8% at $1,873.0 per ounce.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1330 US PPI Machine Manuf'ing Oct 1330 US Retail Sales MM Nov 1500 US Existing Home Sales Dec - China Exports, ⁠Imports, Trade Balance YY Dec (Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Rashmi Aich)