* Gold, silver flatten ahead of U.S. inflation data
* Expectations of easing inflation take shine off precious metals run
SYDNEY, May 13 (Reuters) - Gold surrendered early gains to trade flat on Friday as the dollar strengthened and expectations mounted that U.S. inflationary pressures eased in April.
Silver was also stationary after bouncing off a sharp fall overnight that shaved nearly 3 percent off the price at one point.
Headline consumer price index data out later on Friday is expected to show a more subdued rise of 0.4 percent versus 0.5 percent in March, according to a Reuters poll , reducing gold's appeal among investors seeking an inflation hedge.
"Any signs that inflation was easing will weigh on gold today," a metals trader in Sydney said.
Gold was showing similar resilience to that of base metal commodities, with London Metal Exchange copper futures trimming some early gains before the data is released.
"Gold lost some ground too as the dollar picked up steam but still managed to stay positive," the trader said.
The U.S. dollar rose on Friday and was now on track to post a second week of gains, according to foreign exchange dealers
The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, edged 0.18 percent higher to 75.373. The index had hit a three-week high of 75.645 on Thursday.
Weaker oil prices also rubbed some of the inflation-driven polish off gold, falling more than $1 to as low as $97.87 a barrel
Spot gold was fetching $1,502.59 an ounce by 0306
GMT versus the overnight closing bid of $1,502.35, according to
Reuters data. U.S. gold futures
Spot silver at $34.60 an ounce was unchanged. COMEX
silver
Comments by European Central Bank Executive Board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell that Greece would get its financial woes under control with the help of other euro zone members further tarnished gold's safe harbour appeal. [ID:nLDE74B18U]
In related news, Australian gold stocks on Friday were the worst-performing sector on the bourse, falling on average 1.07 percent.
Price speculation has emerged as a major factor behind the recent wild swings in silver, which saw the metal surge to a peak of almost $50 an ounce in April before diving to as low as $32.33 on Thursday after the Shanghai Gold Exchange hiked margin
requirements, according to the Financial Times newspaper [ID:nIGM0NIC2]
Silver turnover on the Shanghai exchange has soared nearly 30-fold since the start of the year, with the number of outstanding contracts similarly doubling from the start of the year to the end of April.
Chinese investors were seen cutting their silver positions sharply last week as prices tumbled then returned early this week to drive a short-lived rebound.
Precious metals prices 0247 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1503.15 0.80 +0.05 5.90 Spot Silver 34.60 0.00 +0.00 12.12 Spot Platinum 1766.99 4.84 +0.27 -0.03 Spot Palladium 712.22 1.32 +0.19 -10.92 TOCOM Gold 3923.00 13.00 +0.33 5.20 45633 TOCOM Platinum 4650.00 -3.00 -0.06 -0.98 8828 TOCOM Silver 90.00 0.20 +0.22 11.11 3792 TOCOM Palladium 1867.00 2.00 +0.11 -10.97 198 COMEX GOLD JUN1 1503.40 -3.40 -0.23 5.77 6091 COMEX SILVER JUL1 34.60 -0.20 -0.58 11.81 3926 Euro/Dollar 1.4208 Dollar/Yen 80.94
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)