CORRECTED - US gold settles lower with oil, US bond prices

(corrects spot gold closing price and day in paragraph 15)

NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures held onto
losses triggered by falling oil prices and unloading of weak
long positions into Wednesday's close, traders said.

Rising U.S. interest rates helped fuel gold selling as some
participants worry that tighter liquidity could cause investors
to unload precious metals holdings.

"Gold was a little under pressure. I think the rising
interest rates continued to be a bit of a concern generally that
is leaking into precious metals along with a concern about
seasonal lack of (physical) demand," said David Meger, metals
analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

Most-active gold futures for August GCQ7 on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled $4.70 lower
at $660.00 an ounce, pulling off an early high at $665.40. On
Tuesday, August gold extended its rally up to a 10-day high at
$665.80, which nearly matched the June 8 high of $665.90.

Crude oil prices fell 2 percent on Wednesday, as U.S.
gasoline stocks rose and crude inventories hit a nine-year high,
easing supply concerns in the world's top consumer.

Rising interest rates were also a concern among gold traders
as U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Wednesday.

Weakness in European government bonds spilled into the U.S.
debt market after inflationary concerns were voiced by European
central bankers.

A lack of physical demand for the yellow metal at the 10-day
highs reached on Tuesday and nearly matched again on Wednesday
also took the wind out of gold's five-day rally.

"The focal point is physical demand or lack thereof. At this
time of year, physical buyers tend to put their hands down,
allowing for a slide in the gold market that is currently
exacerbated by higher interest rates," said Alaron's Meger.

August gold encountered tough technical resistance around
$665, making the metal vulnerable to more selling on Thursday.

With gold futures tracing out a consolidative pattern,
between $650 and $665 an ounce, however, longer-term traders
showed little concern over the losses.

Wednesday's selling sent the August contract down to
$659.60, still higher than Tuesday's low at $657.10.

Traders said levels below $650 were seen as psychological
support and an area for physical traders to renew buying.

COMEX estimated final gold volume at a light 34,545 lots,
with options trade pegged at 5,576 lots. Tuesday's official
futures turnover came to 66,210 lots.

Spot gold XAU= eased to $654.50/656.00 an ounce by late
Wednesday trade from $660.70/662.20 on Tuesday. It set a high at
$661.35 nearly matching a 10-day high of $661.40 set Tuesday.

London banks set the afternoon gold fix at $657.40.

COMEX July silver SIN7 finished 7.50 cents lower at $13.25
an ounce in a $13.22 to $13.4150 range.

Spot silver XAG= fell to $13.21/3.25 an ounce in late
trade, down from $13.31/35 on Tuesday. London silver was fixed
at $13.34 an ounce.

Platinum remained propped up by supply concerns following
plans announced Monday by world's biggest platinum producer
Angloplat (AMSJ.J) to suspend production at its biggest mine.

The seven-day safety shutdown was seen cutting production by
10,000 to 15,000 ounces, the company said.

NYMEX July platinum PLN7 closed up $2.30 at $1,300.80 an
ounce. Spot platinum XPT= edged up to $1,290/1,294.

September palladium PAU7 added $3.40 to end at $379.90 an
ounce. Spot palladium XPD= rose to $373.0/377.0.