SINGAPORE, July 15 (Reuters) - Gold hovered below its record
high on Friday, after a nine-session rally pushed prices up as
much as 7 percent, as the euro zone debt crisis and
uncertainties around the U.S. debt talks continued to support
sentiment.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold edged down 0.1 percent to $1,585.09 an
ounce by 0047 GMT, after setting a record high at $1,594.16 on
Thursday.	

 * U.S. gold GCcv1 lost 0.2 percent to $1,586. 	

 * Spot gold was on course for a 2.7-percent weekly gain, a
second consecutive week of rise. 	

 * U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dampened hopes
on additional stimulus in the near term, shaving off some
bullish sentiment in commodities overall. But the intensifying
concerns about U.S. debt talks are likely to drive investors to
seek safe haven in gold as the Aug. 2 deadline approaches.
 	

 * The U.S. Treasury has warned that it will run out of money
to pay the country's bills after Aug. 2 if the $14.3 trillion
borrowing limit is not raised. Failure to seal a deal by then
could cause turmoil in global financial markets and plunge the
U.S. into another recession. 	

 * Waning confidence in the strength of global economic
recovery and persistent concerns over euro zone debt levels
since January have prompted some leading analysts to lift their
2012 gold price forecasts, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
 	

 * Italy had to pay the highest interest rates in three years
to sell almost 5 billion euros of long-term debt on Thursday,
highlighting the growing pressure on the public finances of the
euro zone's third largest economy. 	

 * Amid growing worries about contagion of debt crisis, the
European Banking Authority will publish results of its health
check of 90 banks across the European Union later in the day.
 	

 * Spot silver gained 0.4 percent to $38.34, easing
from a two-month high of $39.34 hit in the previous session. It
was on course for a 4.6 percent weekly rise.	

 * U.S. silver SIcv1 lost 0.8 percent to $38.39.	

 MARKET NEWS	

 *  U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as Bernanke backed off hints
additional near-term stimulus could be on the way, removing a
possible catalyst from a market already facing plenty of
obstacles. 	

 * The dollar held its breath in thin Asian trade on Friday
after Standard and Poor's warned there was a one-in-two chance
it could cut the U.S. credit ratings if no deal was reached on
raising the government's debt ceiling. 	

 DATA/EVENTS	
 0900  EZ     Eurostat trade nsa, EUR    May       
 1130  India  M3 Money Supply                      
 1200  U.S.   Citigroup earnings         Q2                 
 1230  U.S.   Consumer Price Index       Jun           
 1230  U.S.   Real earnings              Jun
 1315  U.S.   Industrial prod/Capacity use    Jun      
 1355  U.S.   Reuters/UMich sentiment    Jul-P
 1930  U.S.   CFTC trader commitments-futures Weekly <0#1CFTC00>
 1930  U.S.   CFTC trader commitments-fut&opnsWeekly <0#3CFTC00>

 PRICES	

	
 Precious metals prices 0047 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
 Spot Gold        1585.09   -1.66   -0.10     11.67
 Spot Silver        38.34    0.16   +0.42     24.24
 Spot Platinum    1761.75    0.95   +0.05     -0.33
 Spot Palladium    776.72    3.99   +0.52     -2.85
 TOCOM Gold       4033.00   -3.00   -0.07      8.15        41938
 TOCOM Platinum   4535.00   -3.00   -0.07     -3.43         2998
 TOCOM Silver       97.20   -0.80   -0.82     20.00          589
 TOCOM Palladium  1988.00  -13.00   -0.65     -5.20           83
 COMEX GOLD AUG1  1586.00   -3.30   -0.21     11.58         3823
 COMEX SILVER SEP1  38.39   -0.30   -0.79     24.08         1334
 Euro/Dollar       1.4162
 Dollar/Yen         79.04
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
 	
	
 (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)