PRECIOUS-Gold drops to near one-week low as dollar climbs

* Gold fell 1.4% on Wednesday, its worst day since Aug. 19
* Dollar up for third straight session
* Focus on escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of the
coronavirus:
open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser

(Recasts, updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell to a near one-week low
on Thursday, as a stronger U.S. dollar and an uptick in risk
appetite following better-than-expected economic data dented
demand for the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.5% to $1,933.06 per ounce by
0723 GMT, after falling to its lowest since Aug. 28 at $1,926.99
earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.3% to $1,939.
"Gold is tracking inversely the moves in the dollar... and
part of the reason gold has not capitalised as much after
Jackson Hole is risk appetite seems strong," said DailyFx
currency strategist Ilya Spivak, referring to the annual central
bankers' conference.
"Although there is positive growth, the overall economy is
still very very weak in absolute terms and central banks are
expected to remain dovish, which should be supportive for gold."
The dollar index .DXY rose for a third straight session
against its rivals, making gold expensive for holders of other
currencies. USD/
Recent economic data from China and the United States that
bettered expectations whetted risk appetite among investors.
MKTS/GLOB
However, gains in stock markets were cut short after
Bloomberg reported that China was planning sweeping policy
changes to its semiconductor industry to fight U.S.
restrictions. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in its "Beige Book" report,
highlighted that U.S. business activity and employment ticked up
through late-August, but economic growth was generally sluggish
as COVID-19 hotspots hampered reopening. Gold has gained about 28% so far this year, helped by
ultra-loose monetary policy adopted by major central banks to
mitigate the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Investors now await the initial weekly U.S. jobless claims
report due later in the day, as well as U.S. payroll figures on
Friday, for future direction.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= dropped 1.6% to $27.05 per ounce,
platinum XPT= fell 0.2% to $903.55, while palladium XPD=
gained 0.2% to $2,252.01.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
gold https://tmsnrt.rs/2GfElTd
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>