PRECIOUS-Gold eases as dollar strengthens on U.S. debt deal

* Gold narrows losses slightly after Boris Johnson's
election
* ECB to meet on Thursday, Fed on July 30-31
* Spot gold may fall to $1,401-$1,409/oz range - technicals
* Silver could see some correction after strong run- analyst

(Adds comments, updates prices)
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
July 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped to a near one-week
low on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened following a deal on
extending a debt limit in the United States.
President Donald Trump and U.S. congressional leaders agreed
on Monday on a two-year extension of the debt limit and federal
spending caps to avert a government default this year but adding
to budget deficits in the world's largest economy, lifting the
dollar. Spot gold XAU= fell 0.1% to $1,423.25 per ounce as of 1212
GMT. Prices had dropped to $1,413.80 earlier in the session,
last touched on July 17.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 dropped 0.2% to $1,423.90.
"We are seeing some dollar strength. It is no surprise there
is a little bit of profit-taking coming in," said Ross Norman,
chief executive at bullion dealer Sharps Pixley.
"This does not mean the bull run is over. Gold needs to
consolidate on those higher levels and is taking a breather."
The greenback rose 0.3% versus a basket of its rivals .DXY
to 97.56, its highest level since July 9, making gold more
expensive for holders of other currencies. USD/
The Fed is seen as certain to cut its benchmark rate at its
July 30-31 meeting. The European Central Bank (ECB) is also
expected to signal easier monetary policy when it meets on
Thursday.
"You've seen a sharp upward move over the past weeks in
gold. The momentum seems to have been lost and some short-term
investors have looked to take those healthy profits ahead of the
U.S. Federal Reserve decision next week," said Capital Economics
analyst Ross Strachan.
Bullion narrowed losses following news that Boris Johnson
would replace Theresa May as Britain's new prime minister.
Despite underlying support, analysts say gold could post
losses in the coming days. Gold may fall into a range of
$1,401-$1,409 per ounce as it has broken a support at $1,422,
said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Meanwhile, silver XAG= rose 0.5% to $16.42 an ounce.
"Silver has authenticated gold's rally... What this has done
is put the gold-silver ratio down to a level which you might not
ordinarily expect, just below 87," said Sharps Pixley's Norman,
adding some correction in silver could be expected.
Holdings of the largest gold-backed ETF, New York's SPDR
Gold Trust, rose 0.6% on Monday from Friday, while the largest
silver-backed ETF, the iShares Silver Trust SLV , rose 2.6%
during the same period. Holdings in the silver ETF have risen
about 10% so far this month. GOL/ETF
Among other precious metals, palladium XPD= dipped
slightly to $1,528.01 per ounce, while platinum XPT= rose 0.6%
to $849.25.