* U.S. Oct ISM non-manufacturing data beats expectations
* Silver, palladium drop to near two-week low
* Graphic on 2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl (Updates prices)
By Swati Verma
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold fell 2% on Tuesday, en route to its biggest one-day dip in over a month, as expectations the United States may drop tariffs on Chinese imports assuaged some fears of a global recession.
Spot gold XAU= slid 1.8% to $1,481.81 per ounce as of 2:03 p.m. EST (1903 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 1.8% at $1,483.70.
The metal, which tends to gain during times of economic and political crisis, fell as much as 2% to its lowest level in nearly three weeks at $1,479.25 an ounce earlier in the session and was on track for its biggest one-day percentage drop since late-September.
"The main factor (for gold's slide) is the rollback in some of Chinese import tariffs and part of the 'phase one' trade deal going through," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
"Also, global equities have been trading significantly higher in the last few sessions, coupled with a little bit of a break in the U.S.-China tariffs, putting pressure on anything where there is safety right now."
China hopes for the removal of more tariffs imposed by the United States in September as part of a "phase one" U.S.-China trade deal, which may be signed this month by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. truce hopes and upbeat economic data rekindled optimism about the global economic outlook and pushed the dollar index .DXY and bond yields higher. MKTS/GLOB
The greenback also got a boost after the release of better-than-expected U.S. ISM non-manufacturing data for October, further pressuring the bullion. world stock markets that saw the U.S. indexes score more record highs overnight are keeping demand for the safe-haven metals squelched," Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.
"Risk sentiment worldwide remains upbeat amid ideas the U.S. and China are very close to a partial trade deal."
Meanwhile, a slew of investment in gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) offset a decline in purchases of jewellery, bars and coins to push global gold demand slightly higher in the third quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Tuesday. other metals, silver XAG= dipped 2.4% to $17.61 per ounce after falling to its lowest since Oct. 24, while platinum XPT= fell 0.8% to $927.75 per ounce.
Palladium XPD= edged 0.1% lower to $1,777.66 an ounce, having touched its lowest in nearly two weeks. The metal hit an all-time high of $1,824.50 on Oct. 30, driven by a sustained supply crunch for the autocatalyst metal.
"With palladium expected to stay in deficit and new mine-supply additions lacking next year, prices are likely to remain propped up to incentivize more scrap supply and curb demand growth," UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo said in a note.