PRECIOUS-Gold rises as dollar dips on Yellen's call for bold stimulus action

* Gold at $2,000/oz still achievable - economist
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa

(Updates prices)
By Asha Sistla
Jan 20 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday to a near one-week
high as the dollar weakened on U.S. Treasury secretary nominee
Janet Yellen's call to "act big" on measures to help the U.S.
economy recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Spot gold XAU= gained 0.5% to $1,848.10 per ounce by 1236
GMT, having risen 1% to a near one-week high earlier. U.S. gold
futures GCv1 added 0.4% to $1,847.30.
"Gold looks fairly positive after all that talk about
stimulus yesterday from Yellen weakened the dollar," said
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, adding
that President Biden's inauguration would provide more details
about fiscal policy.
"If U.S. bond yields start to slip back then gold will
regain some of the attraction it lost ...(if) Treasury yields
remain fairly resilient, the upside for gold is likely to remain
at the highs seen earlier this month."
Gold is generally considered a hedge against the inflation
that can result from widespread stimulus. However, higher bond
yields have challenged that status recently as they increase the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Yellen at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday said pandemic
relief would take priority over tax increases, adding that the
benefits of a relief package outweigh the expenses of a higher
debt burden. U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar .DXY fell, in the wake
of Yellen's speech. USD/ US/
Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the
United States on Wednesday, with focus on his $1.9 trillion
stimulus package plan and the pace of COVID-19 vaccine
distribution. Gold at $2,000 is still achievable "probably by the mid of
second quarter, when a good amount of people get inoculated and
there's so much cash in the system with demand almost coming
back to normal," Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank, said.
"People will start looking at inflation very closely then."
Silver XAG= gained 0.6% to $25.35 an ounce. Platinum
XPT= was up 0.2% to $1,085.12 and palladium XPD= rose 0.2%
to $2,357.77.