PRECIOUS-Gold retreats from near eight-year peak as dollar rebounds

(Updates prices)
* Dollar recovers from two-week low
* Gold's rise to resistance level prompts profit-taking
* Interactive graphic on spreading coronavirus: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
in an external browser

By Nakul Iyer
July 7 (Reuters) - Gold dipped on Tuesday as investors
booked profits after bullion rallied to a near eight-year peak
and as demand for dollars rose amid a new surge in COVID-19
cases.
Spot gold XAU= slipped 0.3% to $1,777.72 per ounce by 1213
GMT after earlier touching a high of $1,786.91, just short of
Wednesday's nearly eight-year peak of $1,788.96.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.4% to $1,785.70 per ounce.
"Even though the underlying support remains strong and
demand is still on the up, the fact that we're so close to a key
level of resistance has attracted some light profit-taking,"
Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
But he said downside risks were limited and a weaker dollar
could help gold climb towards $1,800.
India, the world's second biggest gold consumer, overtook
Russia on Monday to record the world's third-highest number of
COVID-19 cases. "The strict curfew in India means that hardly any gold has
been sold or imported there for months," Commerzbank said.
Record increases in novel coronavirus infection in the
United States prompted U.S. cities to roll back reopening
plans. The dollar .DXY rebounded from a two-week low, while
European equities fell on concerns about a deeper-than-feared
euro zone recession. USD/ .EU
"We seem to be bouncing between days of v-shaped optimism
and second wave anxiety, creating this very jittery market and
we're seeing that in gold as well," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam
said.
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= fell 1.4% to $1,912.83 per
ounce, while platinum XPT= rose 0.8% to $819.77 per ounce.
Silver XAG= shed 0.7% to $18.08 per ounce.