dec 2 reuters  gold prices eased on thursday hurt by a firmer dollar as investors assessed how central banks are likely to respond to surging inflation and concerns over economic growth spurred by the new omicron coronavirus variant  spot gold xau fell 01 to 178036 per ounce by 0050 gmt us gold futures gcv1 dropped 01 to 178250  the dollar index held firm and rebounded 04 from the previous sessions low increasing golds cost to buyers holding other currencies  the us central bank needs to be ready to respond to the possibility that inflation may not recede in the second half of next year as most forecasters currently expect federal reserve chair jerome powell said on wednesday read more  the latest covid19 variant could extend some of the supplychain challenges and shortages that have led to higher inflation and officials will need to factor that in as they decide how to withdraw their monetary policy support new york fed president john williams said read more  reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes tend to push government bond yields up raising the opportunity cost of noninterest bearing gold  the fed has given up on its longstanding claim that high inflation is transitory but the bank of england and the european central bank are not quite ready to follow its change of tune read more  us manufacturing activity picked up in november amid strong demand for goods keeping inflation high as factories continued to struggle with pandemicrelated shortages of raw materials read more  spdr gold trust  the worlds largest goldbacked exchangetraded fund said its holdings fell 02 to 99082 tonnes on wednesday from tuesday  spot silver rose 03 to 2237 an ounce platinum gained 02 to 93548 while palladium increased 04 to 175368 reporting by nakul iyer in bengaluru editing by rashmi aich