* Gold up about 0.6% this week
* Silver hits one-year high, set for best week in three years
* Platinum scales two-month peak
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl (Adds analyst comments; updates prices)
By K. Sathya Narayanan
July 19 (Reuters) - Gold fell over 1% on Friday as the dollar firmed and investors took profits after prices briefly surpassed $1,450 to hit a six-year peak on dovish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve and is still on course for a second week of gains.
Spot gold XAU= was down 1.5% at $1,424.13 per ounce at 1:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT), having touched its highest since early May 2013 at $1,452.60.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 0.1% at $1,426.70 per ounce.
"Speculators and traders are taking some profits off the table after the good gains we had in the past two days. Also, there is always a little bit of pressure on gold when the dollar is up," said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.
Prices have risen about 3% in the past two days on increased expectations for a rate hike by the Fed at its month-end meeting.
"With a breakout in gold market, positions have gotten larger and more players are in. So, it can get quite a bit more whippy," said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.
The dollar .DXY was about 0.3% stronger against a basket of currencies, recovering from a sharp fall after top Fed officials on Thursday argued for the need to quickly stimulate the economy, cementing bets that the U.S. central bank will cut rates at its July 30-31 policy meeting. USD/ is still looking good. The interest rates and dollar environment, uncertainties over the U.S.-China trade war and now the geopolitical situation being the icing on the cake; all of this has created a very supportive environment for gold," said Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler.
The United States said its Navy had destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran said all its drones had returned to base safely and there was no sign of major escalation in the Gulf. silver XAG= slipped 1.2% to $16.14 per ounce, after surging to its highest level in more than a year, but was on track for its best week since July 2016, having gained about 6%.
"There is still a good level of demand for silver at the moment with some investors speculating that the gold/silver ratio could fall further, and that a silver trade could potentially allow them to secure more gold in the future," said See Hong Kang, customer service manager at BullionStar Singapore.
Platinum XPT= dipped 0.2% to $846.98 per ounce, after hitting a two-month high, while palladium XPD= fell 0.8% to $1,513.11 per ounce.