PRECIOUS-Gold inches down on Europe worries, Fed stimulus outlook

SINGAPORE, July 13 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower on Friday,
remaining on course for a second consecutive week of losses as
worries about the euro zone debt crisis and a lack of signs on
imminent stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve buoyed the
dollar.
    
    FUNDAMENTALS
    * Spot gold had inched down 0.1 percent to $1,568.70
an ounce by 0006 GMT, heading for a weekly decline of 0.9
percent.
    * The U.S. gold futures contract for August delivery 
edged up 0.2 percent to $1,568.50.
    * Eyes are on Italy's 5.25 billion euro bond auction on
Friday after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the country's
government debt rating by two notches and warned it could cut it
much further. 
    * The dollar index hit a two-year high in the
previous session, and is on track for a fourth straight session
of gains, its longest winning streak since May.
    * Investors will watch China's second-quarter economic
growth data, due at 0200 GMT, which may show it slowed to 7.6
percent, the worst performance since the 2008/09 financial
crisis, as investment, factory output and retail sales weakened
across the board. 
    * The number of Americans signing up for new jobless
benefits fell to a four-year low last week but an unusual
pattern for summer factory shutdowns suggested layoffs might
pick up again in coming weeks. 
    * U.S. Treasuries rose in price on Thursday as worries over
Europe's debt crisis and its possible repercussions on the
global economy fed safe-haven buying, pushing benchmark yields
to near historic lows. 
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    MARKET NEWS
    * U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, hit by more warnings in the
technology sector, while a rally in Procter & Gamble 
helped the blue-chip Dow cut its losses. 
    * The euro languished at two-year lows versus the greenback
on Friday, while high-beta currencies such as the Australian
dollar nursed heavy losses as risk sentiment took a hit ahead of
the data from China. 
       
    DATA/EVENTS
 0200  China     GDP yy                   Apr                     
 0200  China     Industrial output yy     Jun                     
 0200  China     Retail sales yy          Jun                     
 0200  China     Urban investment (ytd)yy Jun                     
 0430  Japan     Industrial output rev    May                     
 1230  U.S.      PPI                      Jun                     
 1930  U.S.      CFTC commitment of traders data Weekly
                                                                  
   
    PRICES
  
 Precious metals prices 0006 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1568.70   -1.79   -0.11      0.31
  Spot Silver        27.14   -0.01   -0.04     -1.99
  Spot Platinum    1413.00    3.60   +0.26      1.44
  Spot Palladium    574.68    1.15   +0.20    -11.93
  COMEX GOLD AUG2  1568.50    3.20   +0.20      0.11         2427
  COMEX SILVER SEP2  27.13   -0.03   -0.11     -2.81         1591
  Euro/Dollar       1.2189
  Dollar/Yen         79.28
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months  
 
    
    

 (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Joseph Radford)