* Silver on track for best week in seven * U.S. retail sales due at 1230 GMT (Updates prices) Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Friday as U.S. bond yields rebounded, though a subdued dollar helped put the precious metal on track for its best week since late August. Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,780.76 per ounce by 1101 GMT. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.9% to $1,782.60. Dimming gold’s appeal by raising its opportunity cost, U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields recovered from a more than one-week low hit on Thursday. “Expectations are growing that the Fed and other central banks are going to tighten their monetary policy, which should keep yields supported, and when yields rise gold tends to struggle,” said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst with ThinkMarkets. “Investors are, however, likely expecting only a moderate tightening from major central banks and that shouldn’t cause too much of a problem for gold as investors hedge against elevated price levels.” While most Fed policymakers agree the central bank could start reducing its monthly bond purchases as soon as next month, they are sharply divided over inflation and what they should do about it. Gold is often considered an inflation hedge, though reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes push government bond yields up, raising the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Investors now await U.S. retail sales data due at 1230 GMT. “While gold could face resistance at the 100 and 200-day moving averages of about $1,798 and $1,795 respectively, gold could overcome this threshold if U.S. economic data – especially retail sales – turn out to be weaker and the dollar depreciates in response,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note. Gold remains on course for a 1.4% weekly gain as the dollar index weakened, lowering gold’s cost for buyers holding other currencies. Spot silver fell 1.3% to $23.23 an ounce but was headed for its biggest weekly gain in seven. Platinum => dropped 0.5% to $1,050.24, while palladium rose 0.4% to $2,136.55. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.