Gold prices fell on Tuesday as investors grew cautious ahead ​of key U.S. jobs data due later in the day, as it is expected to shed light on ⁠future Federal Reserve interest rate cut prospects.

Spot gold lost 0.6% to $4,277.20 per ounce, as of 1102 GMT. Bullion has ⁠rallied 64% ‌year-to-date.

U.S. gold futures were down 0.7% at $4,305.30.

"Gold is on the back foot this morning as investors take profit ahead of key U.S. data that will shape ⁠Fed rate expectations next year," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, adding that weakness below the psychological $4,300 mark is also keeping bears in the picture.

The combined employment reports for October and November are in focus, though a number of key details will be missing due ⁠to a lack of data collection following ​the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 50,000 jobs in November following an anticipated decline in October, a ‍Reuters survey of economists predicted, while the unemployment rate was estimated to come in at 4.4% last month.

Investors will also scrutinize November's ​Consumer Price index and Personal Consumption Expenditures index, due later this week, for further clues on monetary policy next year.

Non-yielding bullion typically thrives in lower-rate environments.

Elsewhere, spot silver fell 1.5% to $62.98 an ounce, after touching a record high of $64.65 on Friday.

"Silver remains influenced by the same forces pressuring gold - a wave of profit-taking and ETF outflows ahead of high-impact US economic releases," said Otunuga.

However, the metal is up 118% for the year, buoyed by physical market tightness, the same macro-economic factors supporting gold, industrial demand and its inclusion in the U.S. critical minerals list.

Elsewhere, spot platinum rose 1.3% to $1,805.85, its highest level since September ⁠2011, while palladium edged lower by 0.2% to $1,563.69, but hovered near ‌a two-month high.

The European Commission is set to backtrack on the EU's ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035, a move that is "likely to be supportive for internal combustion vehicles, which use platinum and ‌palladium," said Nitesh ⁠Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.

This year's gold and silver rally has also drawn investor attention to platinum and ⁠palladium, he added.

(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)