PRECIOUS-Gold slides 1% after Moderna boosts vaccine race

* Moderna says vaccine 94.5% effective in preventing
COVID-19
* U.S. Fed Vice Chair Clarida to speak at 1900 GMT
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa

(Adds Moderna vaccine news, analyst comment, updates prices)
By Asha Sistla
Nov 16 (Reuters) - Gold retreated more than 1% on Monday
after drugmaker Moderna declared an effective COVID-19 vaccine
in tests, bolstering hopes for a swifter economic recovery and
accelerating a shift into riskier assets.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.7% to $1,875.71 per ounce at
1251 GMT, having earlier hit its highest since Nov. 9 at
$1,898.81. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 slipped 0.7% at $1,873.80.
Moderna became the second company in a week to report
late-stage clinical trial results that exceeded expectations,
but gold's price reaction was relatively mild compared to the
more than 5% slump after Pfizer last Monday announced its
vaccine was over 90% effective. Moderna's announcement added further fuel to a global stocks
rally that had also been helped by strong Chinese factory output
data. .N .EU "We have similar news based on the headlines, and we also
have a knee-jerk reaction in the gold market," said Julius Baer
analyst Carsten Menke.
"But certainly those (short-term traders) who were flushed
out of the market last week didn't come back in the meantime, so
the potential for another sell-off like last week was just
lower."
Meanwhile, the global coronavirus crisis showed no signs of
abating, with cases crossing the 11-million mark in the United
States on Sunday. While the markets anticipate a return to normalcy in the
second half of 2021, that "still leaves a massive gap in some of
the economies globally that needs to be filled by governments
and central banks," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
Gold, which benefits from stimulus measures since it's
considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement,
has gained 24% this year.
Investors are also awaiting economic cues from speeches by
U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers this week, beginning with Vice
Chair Richard Clarida at 1900 GMT. Silver XAG= eased 0.8% to $24.44 per ounce. Platinum
XPT= rose 0.3% to $890.97, while palladium XPD= climbed 0.9%
to $2,344.25.