PRECIOUS-Gold firms to near all-time high on econ worries

                                
 SINGAPORE, June 18 (Reuters) - Gold rose to near an
all-time high on Friday as lingering worries about Europe's
debt problems and worse-than-expected U.S. data put pressure on
the dollar and sparked a fresh sweep into safe-haven assets.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,246.90 an ounce at 0025 GMT,
up $3.50 from New York's notional close on Thursday. Gold hit
an intraday high around $1,250 on Thursday, coming within sight
of a record high of  $1,251.20 struck June 8.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> were steady
at $1,249 an ounce.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings rose to a lifetime
high at 1,307.963 tonnes. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The euro held steady near three-week highs on Friday, as
investors liquidated short positions after a robust response to
Spanish bond auctions, while the U.S. dollar appeared
vulnerable to a sell-off. [USD/]
                                
 * U.S. data showed a decline in the Philadelphia Federal
Reserve's mid-Atlantic manufacturing index while there was a
rise in first-time jobless claims. [ID:nN17254724].
                                
 * The Nikkei edged up 0.2 percent on Friday, climbing back
towards a one-month high hit earlier in the week after U.S.
stocks inched higher on momentum gained after the S&P 500 index
broke through its 200-day moving average. [.T] [.N]
                                
 * Brent crude oil pared gains and prompt U.S. futures fell
on Thursday after disappointing U.S. economic data undermined
earlier optimism tied to a Spanish bond auction. [O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 The following data is expected on Friday    <ECON>:
                                
 * India M3 Money Supply June                (1130 GMT)
                                
 * U.S.  ECRI weekly index                    (1430 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS > US jobless claims, price data back low rates
                                
 [nN17254724] > Europe to publish bank stress tests in July 
  
 [nLDE65G0TA] > BOJ minutes: to watch risk of Europe
destabilising[nTKU106088] > US lawmakers hand Fed another win
in Wall St bill [nN17386301] > US grapples with launching China
currency probe   [nN17253187] > Greece 'on track' with reforms,
unions call strike[nLDE65G1IC] > Spain has cash to meet
payments-govt source       [nLDE65G1HF] > SNB backs off FX
interventions; economy improves  [nLDE65E1W2] > World Cup fever
helps UK retail sales in May      [nLDE65G0PD] Precious metals
prices at 0025 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold        1246.90    3.50   +0.28     13.80
 Spot Silver        18.74    0.07   +0.37     11.35
 Spot Platinum    1578.50    4.50   +0.29      7.60
 Spot Palladium    480.50    1.00   +0.21     18.50
 TOCOM Gold       3654.00   21.00   +0.58     12.12       
20010
 TOCOM Platinum   4655.00    4.00   +0.09      6.25        
5319
 TOCOM Silver       55.30    0.70   +1.28      6.96         
156
 TOCOM Palladium  1408.00   20.00   +1.44     20.86          
97
 Euro/Dollar       1.2384
 Dollar/Yen         90.86
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)