* Gold eases after small overnight gains
* Dollar nurses losses after soft U.S. consumer spending
data
* Traders await Yellen speech at 1620 GMT
(Updates prices)
By A. Ananthalakshmi
SINGAPORE, March 29 (Reuters) - Gold dipped slightly on
Tuesday, but held above a one-month low on a softer dollar and
weak U.S. economic data that dented expectations of an immediate
hike in U.S. interest rates.
Traders were waiting to hear from Federal Reserve Chair
Janet Yellen later in the session on U.S. interest rate outlook
amid recent hawkish comments from other Fed officials.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2 percent at $1,218.36 an ounce
by 0647 GMT. The metal had fallen to a one-month low of
$1,208.15 on Monday, before closing the day up 0.4 percent.
"If (Yellen) reinforces recent sentiment expressed by some
governors, we could see further dollar strengthening and
corresponding pressure on gold," said INTL FCStone analyst
Edward Meir.
"However, our take ... is that she is exceedingly dovish and
is loathe to disrupt expectations of a central bank firmly set
on a very gradual rate trajectory and one that is gentler in
slope than that being sketched out by her colleagues."
Higher rates could hurt demand for non-interest paying gold.
Yellen will be speaking on the economic outlook and monetary
policy to the Economic Club of New York at 1620 GMT on Tuesday.
Last week, comments from several Fed officials put investors
on guard for the possibility of at least two rate increases this
year, triggering a widespread correction across commodities and
bolstering the dollar.
Some officials said another rate hike could come as early as
next month if the economy maintained its momentum. The Fed
raised rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade.
However, some of the expectations for an imminent hike in
interest rates were dented after data on Monday showed U.S.
consumer spending barely rose in February and inflation
retreated.
Following the weak data, economists slashed their
first-quarter gross domestic product growth estimates, while the
dollar fell 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies.
PRICES AT 0647 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1218.36 -2.29 -0.19
Spot silver 15.185 -0.032 -0.21
Spot platinum 943.5 1.51 0.16
Spot palladium 569.9 2.4 0.42
Comex gold 1218.8 -1.3 -0.11
Comex silver 15.185 -0.005 -0.03
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months