PRECIOUS-Gold slips to 1-month low as dollar gains upper hand

* Gold and silver slip to one-month lows
* ECB keeps policy unchanged but hints easing in December
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa

(Adds details, updates prices)
By Asha Sistla
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell to a one-month low on
Thursday, extending the previous session's sharp slide as the
dollar remained the preferred refuge from risks due to mounting
COVID-19 cases ahead of the U.S. Presidential election.
Spot gold XAU= was 0.5% lower at $1,868.00 per ounce by
1240 GMT, having fallen 2% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures
GCcv1 slipped 0.6% to $1,868.10.
"You currently see a move out of the risky assets into safe
havens, but the safe haven has been the U.S. dollar," said
Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.
The dollar index .DXY rose to more than a one-week peak,
benefiting from safe-haven inflows as Germany and France imposed
fresh lockdowns to stem a second coronavirus wave. USD/
Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, Democratic challenger Joe
Biden leads U.S. President Donald Trump nationally, but the
competition is tighter in swing states. "The precious metals have not seen much safe-haven demand
amid a U.S. stock market that has become wobbly this week,"
Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.
Gold pared losses slightly after the release of U.S. GDP and
jobless claims data. Jobless claims fell to 751,000 in the Oct.
24 week versus a 775,000 consensus forecast and compared with
791,000 in the prior week. But gold, considered an inflation-hedge, was still up 22%
this year, helped by near-zero interest rates globally and
unprecedented stimulus measures.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank left policy unchanged,
resisting pressure to unveil more stimulus amid a new wave of
the pandemic, but provided the clearest hint yet of fresh easing
at its next meeting in December. On the physical front, the World Gold Council expected gold
demand to improve into year-end in top buyers China and India.
Silver XAG= dipped 2.6% to $22.80 per ounce after earlier
slipping to a near one-month low, platinum XPT= fell 1% to
$859.18 and palladium XPD= was down 1.7% to $2,199.96.