PRECIOUS-Gold slides more than 2% on easing geopolitical tensions and firmer dollar

By Anmol Choubey

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Gold fell by more than 2% on Tuesday as signs of progress in U.S.–Iran talks drove investors away from safe-haven assets, while a stronger dollar added to the pressure to sell.

Spot gold XAU= fell 1.9% to $4,896.09 per ounce by 09:26 a.m. ET (1426 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery declined 2.6% to $4,914.40 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index .DXY rose 0.5% against a basket of currencies, making bullion priced in the currency more expensive for overseas buyers. USD/

"Bull markets need to be fed fresh fundamental fodder often and with the gold and silver markets, there's been a lack of fresh bullish fundamental news lately to drive prices still higher," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.

UNDERSTANDING ON 'GUIDING PRINCIPLES'

Iran and the United States reached an understanding on the main "guiding principles" in a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday but work needs to be done, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia also gathered in Geneva for two days of U.S.-mediated peace talks.

Wyckoff said the talks underlined the negatives for gold and silver.

"If the U.S. can avoid attacking Iran, market anxiety would ease and that would be negative for safe-haven gold and silver, and same applies to the Russia‑Ukraine talks," he added.

Investors are awaiting the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting, due on Wednesday, and the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures report for December, due on Friday, for clues on the U.S. central bank's interest-rate outlook. Markets so far anticipate the first interest rate cut of the year will be in June. FEDWATCH

Non-yielding gold tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments.

Many Asian markets were closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holidays, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore.

Spot silver XAG= fell 2.9% to $74.36 per ounce, after dropping as low as $72.37 earlier in the session.

Spot platinum XPT= fell 1.2% to $2,015.81 per ounce, while palladium XPD= lost 2.9% to $1,675.17.