PRECIOUS-Gold slips after rally; watches currencies

                                
 SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Wednesday,
under pressure from firm stock markets and a steadier euro,
after rising 1 percent the previous day on safe-haven buying
driven by worries the debt problems in Europe were worsening.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,232.00 an ounce by 0056 GMT,
down 45 cents from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when
investors poured money into the metal following a sovereign
ratings downgrade of Greece. Gold hit lifetime high of
$1,251.20 last week.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> hardly moved
at $1,233.3 an ounce after ending nearly $10 higher on
Wednesday.
                                
 * Holdings in The world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, were unchanged
at a record high of 1,306.137 tonnes. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
* The euro steadied near two-week highs on Wednesday, while
demand for high-yielding currencies was underpinned by a
general improvement in risk taking as investors set aside
concerns about the euro zone's financial sector for the moment
to buy riskier assets. [USD/]
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei average rose more than 1 percent on
Wednesday to top 10,000 for the first time in a month, after
successful debt sales by some of the weakest euro-zone members
boosted the euro and Wall Street. [.T] [.N]
                                
 * U.S. crude futures rose for a third day to above $77 a
barrel on Wednesday, helped by the euro and Wall Street's
climb, despite industry data showing an unexpected rise in U.S.
crude inventories. [O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 The following data is expected on Wednesday    <ECON>:
                                
 - EZ   Inflation, final yy        May    (0900 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Build permits: change mm   May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. House starts mm: change    May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Housing starts number mm   May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. PPI inflation y/y, NSA     May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Producer prices mm         May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Producer prices, core mm   May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Producer prices, core yy   May    (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Industrial output mm       May    (1315 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS > Rating agencies dodge bullet in Wall St bill
                                
 [nN14225299] > Spain sells debt at premium,policymakers
urge calm[nLDE65E126] > PIMCO's El-Erian: Further ECB action
needed
                                
  [nN15178338] > NY manufacturing grows, U.S. import prices
slip   [nN15253343] > Best Buy results disappoint; shares fall
                                
     [nN14226190] > Japan govt panel to urge sales tax rise
-Asahi    [nTOE65E06L] > NZ consumer confidence gains in Q2 -
survey       [nSGE65E27E] > Euro zone April trade surplus less
than expected  [nBRLFHE636] > German data signals mixed in euro
zone debt woes  [nLDE65E0XT] > UK Nationwide confidence index
falls to 11-mth low[nLAG006312] > Canada factory sales,
productivity growth slows   [nN15258387] Precious metals prices
at 0056 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold        1232.00   -0.45   -0.04     12.44
 Spot Silver        18.54    0.05   +0.27     10.16
 Spot Platinum    1579.25    6.75   +0.43      7.65
 Spot Palladium    470.00    0.50   +0.11     15.91
 TOCOM Gold       3638.00   41.00   +1.14     11.63       
14864
 TOCOM Platinum   4687.00   99.00   +2.16      6.98        
9143
 TOCOM Silver       55.20    1.10   +2.03      6.77         
283
 TOCOM Palladium  1395.00   49.00   +3.64     19.74         
236
 Euro/Dollar       1.2309
 Dollar/Yen         91.61
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Lane)