GOL/ Gold miners Evolution Mining EVN.AX and De Grey Mining DEG.AX led the gains, up 6.7% and 4.3%, respectively. Nov 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares dropped on Thursday, with commodity and tech stocks weighing the most, as investors feared the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner than anticipated to tame rising prices in the world's largest economy. While strong U.S. retail data this week showed that an acceleration in inflation has not stifled economic growth so far, investors feared that further increases in prices could push the Fed into tightening policy.