By Humeyra Pamuk LONDON (Reuters) - Gold dropped below $1,000 an ounce on Monday, its lowest in almost a week, as the dollar rose broadly and investors took a breather ahead of this week's U.S. Federal Reserve and G20 meeting. Analysts said selling pressure from the physical market has also weighed on bullion which climbed to $1,023.85 an ounce last week, its highest since March 2008, but failed to match its record high of $1,030.80 an ounce. Spot gold was at $1,000.15 an ounce by 1125 GMT, versus $1,006.15 an ounce late in New York on Friday. The precious metal has gained as much as 16 percent this year. "The tricky thing is the selling interest in the physical market and the stronger dollar this morning," said analyst Manquoba Madinane at Standard Bank in Johannesburg, and echoed traders who mentioned selling from speculators in Asia, driven by worries over the IMF's plan to sell gold and a firmer dollar. The dollar rose broadly on Monday, extending its pullback from a one-year low against the euro. On Friday, the IMF member countries formally endorsed a plan for strictly limited sales of 403.3 tonnes of gold from its stockpile but said sales would be done in a way that did not disrupt gold markets. "Central banks, including China's, could acquire the gold at lower prices via the market. However, this is likely to be market-adverse on the whole, even if the sale takes place over several years and in a way that will not disrupt gold markets," Commerzbank said in a research note. On Monday, Market News International reported that China is considering buying gold being offered for sale by the International Monetary Fund, citing two unnamed government sources, but the report could not be confirmed and traders said it had little lasting impact on the market.

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