PRECIOUS-Gold down nearly 1 pct on technicals, euro jitters

(Recasts, updates prices, market activity, adds link to
graphic)
* Gold drops on discouraging economic reports from Europe
* Markets wait for Greece to accept tough reports for
bailout
* Technical selling pressures as bullion fails to breach
$1,750/oz
* Gold-silver ratio drops to three-month low
* Coming up: U.S. wholesale inventory and sales on Thursday

By Frank Tang and Veronica Brown
NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Gold fell almost 1
percent on Wednesday on new worries about Europe's
economy and as technical resistance prompted investors to take
profits after the previous session's rally.
Bullion weakened on news that Italy's economy probably
contracted in the fourth quarter and on discouraging reports
from Germany and France, along with lingering doubt about a
rescue package for Greece.
Gold remained up about 11 percent for the year, boosted by
the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to near-zero interest
rates and also buoyed by gains in equity markets.
"We're back into the technically congested area. It's easier
to take profits if you've got some than to hold onto it with
this much uncertainty going on," said Sean McGillivray, head of
asset allocation for Great Pacific Wealth Management.
McGillivray said that the previous session, gold rose 2
percent and appeared likely to continue the uptrend due to a
bullish double-bottom chart pattern. But on Wednesday, gold
failed to break above the previous session's high around $1,750
an ounce, and aggressive selling set in.

Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,732.49 an ounce
by 2:44 p.m. (1944 GMT) .
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled down
$17.10 an ounce at $1,731.30. Volume was about 25 percent below
its 30-day average but in line with its recent trading pace.
Analysts said economic uncertainty in the euro zone and the
United States should underpin gold.
Even after a stronger-than-expected U.S. job report last
week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in Congressional testimony
on Tuesday that U.S. economic recovery could remain challenging.
"The idea that the Fed's view on the economy was not as
encouraging as the employment figures reflected was enough of a
reminder to money managers that interest will remain low for a
long period of time," said Carlos Perez-Santalla, precious
metals broker at PVM Futures.
Germany saw its steepest drop in exports for nearly three
years in December and the Bank of France said that country's
economy would not grow in the first quarter.
In trading news, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said
it is launching new spot gold futures that will be
cash-settled with an aim to simulate over-the-counter trading of
spot bullion.

SILVER OUTPEFORMING GOLD
The gold-silver ratio, which measures how many ounces of
silver is needed to buy an ounce of gold, hovered above 51, its
lowest level in three months. For most part of 2011, the ratio
was below 46, compared to a near 30-year average of 64.
Spot silver fell 0.7 percent to $33.89 an ounce.
Edward Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone, said silver could
push to the $40 an ounce level if it rises above heavy
resistance at around $35.70.
Platinum prices were up 1.4 percent at $1,644.48 an
ounce, while palladium inched down 2 cents at $702.95.

2:44 PM EST LAST/ NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
SETTLE CHNG CHNG VOL
US Gold APR 1731.30 -17.10 -1.0 1726.00 1754.80 135,572
US Silver MAR 33.704 -0.490 -1.4 33.655 34.520 49,362
US Plat APR 1668.10 13.30 0.8 1645.30 1669.30 7,824
US Pall MAR 715.90 6.75 1.0 704.95 717.95 3,214

Gold 1732.49 -12.41 -0.7 1725.35 1751.30
Silver 33.890 -0.250 -0.7 33.690 34.480
Platinum 1644.48 22.49 1.4 1640.50 1662.50
Palladium 702.95 -0.02 0.0 707.00 713.72

TOTAL MARKET VOLUME 30-D ATM VOLATILITY
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG CURRENT CHG
US Gold 145,031 188,749 193,626 21.21 -0.59
US Silver 60,941 42,400 41,324 37.07 0.30
US Platinum 7,869 6,596 7,521 19 -12.00
US Palladium 3,417 3,656 4,755

(Additional reporting by Rujun Shen in Singapore; Editing by
David Gregorio)