PRECIOUS-Gold dips below $2,000 as dollar steadies; Fed minutes in focus

* Asian stocks at 7-month high
* Gold off 1-week high on Tuesday near $2,015
* Fed meeting minutes due at 1800 GMT
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
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(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gold fell below $2,000 an ounce on
Wednesday as the dollar steadied, with investors awaiting
minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.7% at $1,987.36 per ounce by
0654 GMT, after hitting a one-week high of $2,014.97 on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.8% to $1,997.70.
"Gold is down as the U.S. dollar strengthened slightly this
morning. In the short term, a rebound in the USD might inhibit
the rally in gold," said DailyFx strategist Margaret Yang.
"Gold has registered a 3% gain over the past two days,
rendering the metal prices vulnerable to profit-taking
activities."
The dollar index .DXY edged 0.1% higher against its rivals
after hitting a more than two-year low in the last session. A
stronger greenback makes gold expensive for holders of other
currencies. USD/
The dollar, also considered a safe-haven, has lost its
appeal recently after the U.S. central bank rolled out a wave of
fiscal measures and cut interest rates to near zero to mitigate
economic damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
"Given the ferocity of the U.S. dollar sell-off, gold should
find plenty of eager buyers on any dips to $1,990 during the
session," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
On investors' radar are minutes from the Fed's recent
meeting due for release at 1800 GMT.
"Although the Fed is not expected to indicate any new
monetary stimulus initiatives in the minutes, investors would be
paying attention to any change to Fed's approach to inflation
that could be negative for the dollar," Phillip Futures analysts
said in a note.
Meanwhile, strong corporate earnings and
better-than-expected U.S. economic data lifted risk sentiment
among investors. MKTS/GLOB
Spot gold may test a support at $1,978 per ounce, following
its failure to break a resistance at $2,014, said Reuters
technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C
Elsewhere, silver XAG= eased 0.3% to $27.57 per ounce.
Platinum XPT= dropped 0.7% to $949.95 and palladium XPD=
slipped 1% to $2,167.38.

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