Gold little changed ahead of Fed verdict, silver powers to fresh records above $60/oz

Dec 10 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Wednesday, as investors prepared to parse Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's guidance on a day when the bank is widely expected to deliver an interest rate cut, while silver continued its record-breaking run above $60 an ounce.

Spot gold was flat at $4,210.79 per ounce, as of 0606 GMT. U.S. gold futures for February delivery rose 0.1% to $4,238.90 per ounce.

Silver is now catching up with gold in terms of value. In October , it took 82 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. Today, that is close to 69, said Jigar Trivedi, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities.

"Silver is in demand considering the fundamentals as well," said Trivedi, referring to the white metal's use in industries.

Sectors like solar energy, electric vehicles and their infrastructure, and data centers and artificial intelligence will drive industrial demand higher through 2030, the Silver Institute industry association said in a research report on Tuesday.

Maria Smirnova, chief investment officer at Sprott Asset Management, said the metal received additional support from exchange-traded fund inflows and the U.S. move to designate it a critical mineral earlier in the year.