* Platinum hits lowest since Dec. 23 at $1,005.50/oz * Silver retreats from near three-week peak hit on Wednesday (Adds comments, updates prices) Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices were under pressure on Thursday after hawkish remarks from a top U.S. Federal Reserve strengthened the dollar, with investors now focusing on non-farm payrolls data for cues on the labour market’s recovery. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,809.91 per ounce by 0654 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell by a similar margin to $1,812.10. “The bulls are not able to take this market beyond the $1,810-$1,815 range and are waiting for a fresh trigger,” said Jigar Trivedi, a commodities analyst at Mumbai-based broker Anand Rathi Shares. “If the nonfarm payrolls come on the higher side gold will likely see a sharp sell-off, falling to $1,790, with a drop to $1,760 also being a possibility.” Gold prices jumped more than 1% in the previous session on disappointing ADP National Employment Report, but pared gains following Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida’s remarks that conditions for raising interest rates could be met by the end of 2022. He and three other Fed members also suggested a move to taper bond buying later this year or early next depending on the recovery in the labour market. Higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold. The dollar index held firmed on the hawkish comments. Analysts, however, saw mounting coronavirus cases as lending support to gold prices. Given that the pandemic is showing no signs of abating, the price risk is biased towards the upside, said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX, adding that prices will go higher if Fed delays tapering plan. Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, with the United States accounting for one in every seven global infections, according to a Reuters tally. Elsewhere, silver fell 0.1% to $25.34 per ounce, having hit a near three-week peak on Wednesday. Platinum earlier hit a more than seven-month low of $1,005.50 and was last down 1.5% at $1,010.46. Palladium rose 0.2% to $2,652.81. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Anil D’Silva)