PRECIOUS-Gold off lows on safety bids, outperforms equities

* Euro rebounds on IMF-Greece talk
* Spain's economy sinks deeper into recession in Q2
* Biggest gold ETF logs largest weekly outflow since Dec
* Coming up: US Housing Finance Agency home prices Tues

(Adds details, updates market activity)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Monday as
Spain's economic troubles fueled euro zone debt fears, but
safe-haven bids pulled bullion off session lows, as it
outperformed equities and other commodities.
Gold came under early pressure from tumbling U.S. equities
and crude oil after Spain said it sank deeper into recession in
the second quarter. Many investors worried the euro zone's No. 4
economy was closer to seeking a full bailout.
Gold pared losses as the euro rebounded after the
International Monetary Fund said it would start discussions with
the Greek authorities on July 24 on how to bring Greece's
economic program back on track.
Last week, worries about a global economic slowdown and
deflation sent bullion slumping toward $1,560 an ounce several
times, but gold held above that level. The metal has been moving
in a range between $1,527 and $1,655 in the past three months.
"When gold gets down to a certain range around $1,550-60,
investors often consider it a safety play and an inexpensive
hedge in their portfolios," said Phillip Streible, senior
commodities broker at futures brokerage R.J. O'Brien.
"Plus, a lot of people think that weaker global cues are
going to entice the Fed to embark on another quantitative easing
plan, so gold's downside is somewhat limited," Streible said.
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,576.10 an ounce
by 3:18 p.m. EDT (1918 GMT).
U.S. COMEX August gold futures settle down $5.40 at
$1,577.40 an ounce, with trading volume in line with its 30-day
average, preliminary Reuters data showed.
Bullion was dragged down by a more than 3 percent drop in
Brent oil and a one-percent fall in the S&P 500
amid European economic worries. U.S. Treasury yields fell to new
record lows.
European debt fears sent global markets lower after a second
Spanish region requested help from the central government to
keep it afloat, as media reported half a dozen local authorities
were ready to follow in the footsteps of Valencia.

ETF, PHYSICAL DEMAND WEAK
Investment buying and Indian and Chinese physical precious
metals demand remained weak, analysts said.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, dropped for a fourth
consecutive week after a 2.4-tonne outflow on Friday. The
15-tonne decline marked its biggest weekly fall since late
December.
Trade data from China, a major market for industrial
precious metals, showed a 23.6 percent year-on-year drop in
silver imports in June, a 29.6 fall in palladium imports, and a
31.8 percent rise in platinum inflows.
Physical gold demand was already under pressure as a
near-record low in the Indian rupee makes gold more expensive
for the country which is among the top consumers of bullion.
Among other precious metals, silver was down 1
percent at $27.03 an ounce, while platinum fell 1.3
percent to $1,392.70 an ounce and palladium dropped 0.4
percent to $568.72 an ounce.
3:18 PM EDT LAST/ NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
SETTLE CHNG CHNG VOL
US Gold AUG 1577.40 -5.40 -0.3 1562.00 1582.40 128,489
US Silver SEP 27.042 -0.260 -1.0 26.615 27.285 33,589
US Plat OCT 1398.90 -15.60 -1.1 1389.00 1414.50 6,712
US Pall SEP 570.95 -5.15 -0.9 563.50 578.30 2,666

Gold 1576.10 -8.04 -0.5 1563.95 1582.76
Silver 27.030 -0.260 -1.0 26.700 27.320
Platinum 1392.70 -17.75 -1.3 1392.20 1408.00
Palladium 568.72 -2.31 -0.4 565.85 575.50

TOTAL MARKET VOLUME 30-D ATM VOLATILITY
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG CURRENT CHG
US Gold 153,109 152,540 196,124 19.98 0.02
US Silver 35,941 53,210 58,222 30.74 -4.07
US Platinum 6,788 10,873 9,025 23 0.00
US Palladium 2,709 3,097 4,622

(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by Dale
Hudson and David Gregorio)