(Recasts, adds comments and updates prices) * Gold to be supported as a near-term inflation hedge - analyst * Investors eye BoJ, ECB meetings and U.S. GDP data on Thursday Oct 26 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Tuesday, weighed down by an uptick in the dollar and U.S. bond yields, as investors assessed central banks’ likely response to higher inflation ahead of key upcoming policy meetings. Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,803.51 per ounce by 0329 GMT. U.S. gold futures dropped 0.1% to $1,805.30. On Monday, the metal rose nearly 1% to a high of $1,809.66, only about $4 shy of an over one-month peak scaled last week. The dollar rose 0.1% on Tuesday, recovering from a near one-month trough hit during the previous session, souring gold’s appeal to buyers holding other currencies. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were also a tad higher at 1.6369%, raising non-interest bearing gold’s opportunity cost. “Gold should remain relatively well supported in the current inflationary environment until we get a definitely hawkish pivot from the Fed,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. “But if inflation runs rampantly out of control, the Fed could raise rates quicker than priced in, and that should cool sentiment in the gold market,” Innes added, cautioning that the Fed also had to contend with fears over weaker growth, which could also make them reluctant to aggressively tighten. Investors are now focussing on policy meetings of the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday followed by next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England policy meet. Third-quarter U.S. GDP data due on the same day is also on their radar. Gold is often considered an inflation hedge, though reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes push government bond yields up, translating into a higher opportunity cost for holding bullion which pays no interest. Spot silver fell 0.7% to $24.38 per ounce. Platinum dropped 0.6% to $1,050.93 and palladium eased 0.2%to $2,047.39. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.