PRECIOUS-Gold eases from early 4-1/2 month high, eyes Fed

* Gold down on profit taking
* Investors wait for Fed easing clues from Jackson Hole
* Holiday-thin volume due to UK holiday, summer vacation
* Coming up: U.S. Richmond Fed manufacturing index Tuesday

(Adds details, updates market activity)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Gold hit a 4-1/2 month high
before ending slightly lower on Monday, as investors took
profits after an early rally on speculation that the U.S.
Federal Reserve may unveil another round of monetary stimulus at
a central bankers' meeting later this week.
The precious metal, a traditional inflation hedge, received
a boost after Fed Chairman Bernanke last week wrote to a U.S.
congressional panel that the Fed has room to deliver additional
monetary stimulus to boost the U.S. economy.
Bullion investors are awaiting the annual symposium of
central bankers and finance ministers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
where Bernanke is due to deliver a speech on Friday.
The metal rose nearly 3.5 percent last week, its biggest
one-week rise since late January, and analysts said gold looked
set to rise further after breaking the top part of a
four-month-old trading range.
"There certainly seems to be a premium in advance of the
potential hint, but the downside is limited as whether Bernanke
gives an indication of their intentions or not. Most economists
agree the economic measures in the U.S. point to a need for some
action soon," said Carlos Perez-Santalla, trader at PVM Futures.
Spot gold hit $1,676.45 an ounce before ended down
0.3 percent at $1,665.20 an ounce by 3:53 p.m. EDT (1953 GMT).
U.S. COMEX gold futures for December delivery,
however, settled up $2.70 an ounce at $1,675.60, as the futures
market settled prior to a wave of late selling that turned spot
prices into losses.
Trading volume was about 60 percent below its 250-day
average, preliminary Reuters data showed, as the U.K. market was
shut Monday for a bank holiday, and many U.S. trading desks were
thinly staffed at the beginning of the last week of traditional
summer vacation.
Spot silver eased 0.2 percent at $30.72 an ounce
after hitting a near-four-month high of $31.26, building on last
week's gain of nearly 10 percent which was its largest weekly
rise since last October.

ALL EYES ON WYOMING MEETING
Gold investors will likely stay cautiously upbeat as
Bernanke has in the past announced his intention on monetary
easing at the Fed's annual symposium at Jackson Hole.
Expectations for a third round of bond-buyback program known
as quantitative easing ran high against the backdrop of a U.S.
slow and disappointing U.S. economic recovery. However, analysts
doubt Bernanke, who prefers not to front-run the central bank's
policy-setting committee, will provide clarity on the Fed's
plans for its next meeting on Sept. 12-13.
Spot platinum inched down 0.1 percent at $1,539.99 an
ounce, having risen 5.4 percent last week, its biggest one-week
rise since February. The price has risen after the violence in
South Africa, source of 80 percent of the world's platinum.
Spot palladium was unchanged at $648.50 from Friday's
late quote.
3:53 PM EDT LAST/ NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
SETTLE CHNG CHNG VOL
US Gold DEC 1675.60 2.70 0.2 1666.20 1679.30 72,007
US Silver SEP 31.048 0.427 1.4 30.650 31.225 55,441
US Plat OCT 1553.20 -1.20 -0.1 1540.80 1557.70 4,638
US Pall SEP 654.75 2.60 0.4 644.85 655.80 3,515

Gold 1665.20 -4.54 -0.3 1664.28 1676.45
Silver 30.720 -0.050 -0.2 30.710 31.260
Platinum 1539.99 -1.91 -0.1 1542.50 1552.00
Palladium 648.50 0.00 0.0 647.02 655.00

TOTAL MARKET VOLUME 30-D ATM VOLATILITY
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG CURRENT CHG
US Gold 76,674 150,193 181,060 17.85 -0.16
US Silver 94,712 42,521 56,415 26.37 -1.62
US Platinum 4,799 14,253 9,625 23.23 0.02
US Palladium 6,763 6,292 4,602

(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London and Rujun Shen in
Singapore; editing by Jim Marshall, Leslie Gevirtz)