PRECIOUS-Gold steady; weak U.S. econ data supports

                                
 SINGAPORE, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Thursday,
after having touched an all-time high earlier in the week, and
economic recovery concerns stemming from weak U.S. economic
data are likely to lend support to the metal.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was little changed at $1,266.6 an ounce
by 0041 GMT. It hit a record high of $1,274.75 on Sept 14.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> stood at
$1,267.8 an ounce, down less than a dollar.
                                
 * Billionaire financier George Soros renewed a warning that
gold is the "ultimate bubble", even though gold prices might
continue to rise after hitting record highs this week.
[ID:nN15153856]
                                
 * U.S. industrial output slowed last month and a regional
measure of factory activity touched a 14-month low in
September, pointing to a cooling in manufacturing as the boost
from an inventory build-up fades. [ID:nN15145257]
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P> said its holdings fell to 1,294.746
tonnes by Sept 15 from 1,298.698 tonnes on Sept 14. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * Spot silver <XAG=> hit a new 2-1/2-year high of $20.65 an
ounce, before easing to $20.56. The Relative Strength Index, or
RSI, reached 75.905, signalling an overbought market.
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * Wall Street advanced on Wednesday but remained hemmed in
a recent trading range as disappointing economic data hindered
the S&P 500 from breaking through a stubborn technical level.
[.N]
                                
 * The yen remained under pressure on Thursday as traders
stayed on the alert for possible further intervention by
Japanese authorities after their massive yen-selling campaign
the previous day caught many off guard. [USD/]
                                
 DATA/EVENTS
                                
 0900  EZ        Eurostat trade                   Jul
                                
 1230  U.S.      PPI inflation y/y, NSA           Aug
                                
 1230  U.S.      Producer prices mm               Aug
                                
 1230  U.S.      Producer prices, core mm         Aug
                                
 1230  U.S.      Producer prices, core yy         Aug
                                
 1230  U.S.      Current account                   Q2
                                
 1230  U.S.      Initial Claims                Weekly
                                
 1400  U.S.      Phil Fed business index          Sep
                                
 RELATED NEWS > Japan intervenes to weaken yen; more to come
                                
 [nTOE68E02W] > US's Geithner says Chinese yuan rising too
slowly [nN15211310] > Wall Street advances but remains
rangebound      [nN15193577] > Japan manuf mood falls first
time since 2009 -poll[nTWKFKE61A] > Dollar surges after Japan
intervenes to weaken yen[nN15191735] > Obama looks to
jump-start Wall St, health reforms [nN15152410] > NZ cenbank
holds rate, future rises gradual      [nSGE68E044] > US
industrial output slows; import prices up     [nN15145257] >
Slower euro zone inflation confirmed, jobless flat[nLDE68E0MF]
> Oil slips for 2nd day on pipeline restart view   [nSGE68E09O]
> US industry, lawmakers urge action on China yuan [nN15135709]
> Canada July factory sales fall on autos          [nN15446129]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0041 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover Spot Gold        1266.60    0.95   +0.08     15.60
 Spot Silver        20.56    0.07   +0.34     22.16
 Spot Platinum    1595.00   -9.50   -0.59      8.73
 Spot Palladium    554.00    0.22   +0.04     36.62
 TOCOM Gold       3494.00   26.00   +0.75      7.21      
28330
 TOCOM Platinum   4406.00   53.00   +1.22      0.57       
8740
 TOCOM Silver       56.80    0.80   +1.43      9.86        
317
 TOCOM Palladium  1524.00   37.00   +2.49     30.82        
407
 Euro/Dollar       1.2991
 Dollar/Yen         85.56
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Manash Goswami)