* U.S. Oct ISM non-manufacturing data beats expectations
* Silver, palladium drop to near two-week low
* Graphic on 2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
(Updates prices)
By Swati Verma
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold fell 2% on Tuesday, en route to its
biggest one-day dip in over a month, as expectations the United
States may drop tariffs on Chinese imports assuaged some fears
of a global recession.
Spot gold XAU= slid 1.8% to $1,481.81 per ounce as of 2:03
p.m. EST (1903 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 1.8%
at $1,483.70.
The metal, which tends to gain during times of economic and
political crisis, fell as much as 2% to its lowest level in
nearly three weeks at $1,479.25 an ounce earlier in the session
and was on track for its biggest one-day percentage drop since
late-September.
"The main factor (for gold's slide) is the rollback in some
of Chinese import tariffs and part of the 'phase one' trade deal
going through," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at
RJO Futures.
"Also, global equities have been trading significantly
higher in the last few sessions, coupled with a little bit of a
break in the U.S.-China tariffs, putting pressure on anything
where there is safety right now."
China hopes for the removal of more tariffs imposed by the
United States in September as part of a "phase one" U.S.-China
trade deal, which may be signed this month by U.S. President
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trade truce hopes and upbeat economic data rekindled
optimism about the global economic outlook and pushed the dollar
index .DXY and bond yields higher. MKTS/GLOB
The greenback also got a boost after the release of
better-than-expected U.S. ISM non-manufacturing data for
October, further pressuring the bullion. "Rallying world stock markets that saw the U.S. indexes
score more record highs overnight are keeping demand for the
safe-haven metals squelched," Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim
Wyckoff said in a note.
"Risk sentiment worldwide remains upbeat amid ideas the U.S.
and China are very close to a partial trade deal."
Meanwhile, a slew of investment in gold-backed exchange
traded funds (ETFs) offset a decline in purchases of jewellery,
bars and coins to push global gold demand slightly higher in the
third quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Tuesday.
Among other metals, silver XAG= dipped 2.4% to $17.61 per
ounce after falling to its lowest since Oct. 24, while platinum
XPT= fell 0.8% to $927.75 per ounce.
Palladium XPD= edged 0.1% lower to $1,777.66 an ounce,
having touched its lowest in nearly two weeks. The metal hit an
all-time high of $1,824.50 on Oct. 30, driven by a sustained
supply crunch for the autocatalyst metal.
"With palladium expected to stay in deficit and new
mine-supply additions lacking next year, prices are likely to
remain propped up to incentivize more scrap supply and curb
demand growth," UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo said in
a note.