PRECIOUS-Gold steady after 4 days of gains; Greece in focus

* Weak U.S. data raises hopes of more easing by Fed
* Physical gold demand slow, some selling seen at higher
levels
* Coming up: U.S. CPI, May; 1230 GMT

(Adds detail; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, June 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices were steady on
Thursday after posting a fourth straight session of gains the
previous day, when weak U.S. data fuelled expectations for
monetary stimulus, with investors nervous before a make-or-break
Greek election.
Cash gold has gained more than 1 percent this week, breaking
ranks with the euro, which has fallen 0.8 percent as mounting
worries about the euro zone's ability to contain its debt crisis
drew some safe-haven flows into gold.
Moody's cut Spain's sovereign debt rating by three notches,
and economists expected Madrid to seek an international bailout
soon, despite a newly approved euro zone plan to help the
country's battered banks.
Weak retail and inflation data added to evidence of a
slowdown in the U.S. recovery, raising expectations for further
easing by the Federal Reserve.
"Once there's evidence that the policymakers on the monetary
side are going to have to release stimulus, especially with
inflation coming up, we should see rising interest in gold and
silver," said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe
Generale in Hong Kong.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,618.10 an ounce by
0656 GMT, after rising nearly 2 percent over the past four
sessions, its longest winning streak since late April.
The U.S. gold futures contract for August delivery
was nearly flat at $1,619.
German Bund futures, a barometer of sentiment in the
European government debt market, opened slightly higher,
reflecting worries over Spain's downgrade, as investors watch an
Italian bond auction later in the day.

But traders said the Greek election on Sunday, which may
decide whether the country remains in the euro zone, is key.
The correlation between gold and the dollar stood at -0.249,
close to an eight-month high of -0.236 hit last week. A reading
of -1 suggests a perfectly inverse correlation.
Gold bar premiums in Singapore and Hong Kong edged lower
from last week, as demand remained sluggish, dealers said.

"June is a quiet month for jewellers' demand, while
investors are only buying on dips," said Dick Poon, manager of
precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong, adding that investors
saw $1,550 as a good bargain-hunting level.
In Hong Kong, premiums stood in a range of $1 to $1.40 an
ounce, down from $1.10 to $1.60 last week, dealers said.

Precious metals prices 0656 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1618.10 1.02 +0.06 3.47
Spot Silver 28.88 -0.05 -0.17 4.30
Spot Platinum 1476.69 17.21 +1.18 6.01
Spot Palladium 618.72 1.39 +0.23 -5.18
COMEX GOLD AUG2 1619.00 -0.40 -0.02 3.33 12495
COMEX SILVER JUL2 28.88 -0.06 -0.21 3.46 2948
Euro/Dollar 1.2562
Dollar/Yen 79.38
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

(Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Joseph Radford)