* Technical data suggests bearish selling pressure for gold – analyst

* Palladium, platinum head for best week since mid-March (Price updates)

June 25 (Reuters) – Gold rose slightly on Friday after stagnant U.S. consumer spending tempered bets on an early Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening, putting bullion on track for his first weekly gain in four.

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $ 1,776.96 an ounce at 1:07 am EDT (1707 GMT), adding about 0.8% for the week so far. US gold futures were little changed at $ 1,782.80.

“Gold has benefited from lower than expected inflation, concerns at the margins have eased following a faster than expected reduction schedule,” said Suki Cooper, analyst at Standard Chartered.

The $ 1,770 an ounce level is short-term support, Cooper said, with resistance at the 100-day moving average.

Earlier data showed the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, was below expectations in May. The data initially weighed on the dollar, but the currency has since stabilized, slowing the advance of gold.

“The market is taking a more optimistic view of the outlook for inflation, tempering earlier expectations that inflation would become problematic more quickly,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.

Gold prices registered big losses last week after the Fed forecast rate hikes as early as 2023, causing a massive sell-off of unproductive bullion.

Although prices have stabilized since then, bullion is still on volatile ground given mixed signals from the Fed, analysts said.

Two Fed officials warned on Thursday that inflation could rise more than policymakers had expected in the near term. They spoke after Fed chief Jerome Powell said inflation would not be the only factor determining interest rate decisions.

“It’s important to note that from a technical standpoint we have formed a downtrend on the gold chart which perhaps suggests downward selling pressure next week after this week’s break.” , said Wyckoff.

Platinum was up 1.3% to $ 1,106.50 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.1% to $ 2,637.60. Silver rose 0.3% to $ 26.01. (Report by Swati Verma, additional report by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru, edited by Alistair Bell)