PRECIOUS-Gold drops to near two-week low as dollar rebounds

* European shares drop to 2-week low
* Silver, palladium down over 1%
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/

(Updates prices)
By Nakul Iyer
Sept 21 (Reuters) - Gold fell to its lowest in nearly two
weeks on Monday as the dollar strengthened, while scepticism
over additional stimulus measures from U.S. Federal Reserve
policymakers' speeches this week added further pressure.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 1% to $1,930.07 per ounce by 1211
GMT, having declined to its lowest since Sept. 9 at $1,928.14.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 fell 1.2% to $1,938.30 per ounce.
"(The) tug-of-war between the dollar and gold is expected to
play out until there is a major shift in global risk sentiment,
or if investors can get a better grasp on the U.S. monetary
policy outlook," said FXTM market analyst Han Tan.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.4% against its rivals, making
gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. USD/
Investors now await speeches by Fed committee members,
including Chairman Jerome Powell, who will appear before
Congressional committees later this week. "They (central banks) are in a wait and see mode and it has
tempered the expectations of gold bulls," said Michael Hewson,
chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
It is unlikely that we'll get any clarity on how the Fed is
going to arrive at its inflation targets and on monetary policy
until at least the end of the U.S. election, he added.
Gold's decline came despite European shares dropping to a
2-week low as surging COVID-19 cases in Europe prompted renewed
lockdown measures in some countries and clouded the recovery
outlook. EU.
"The U.S. elections in early November certainly pose a major
event risk on gold's trajectory. Should risk aversion creep up
over the coming six weeks, that may translate into upward
pressure for bullion prices in the interim," FXTM's Tan noted.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= fell 1.7% to $26.31 per ounce,
platinum XPT= slipped about 1% to $918.97 and palladium XPD=
was down 1.5% at $2,322.79.