SINGAPORE, May 16 (Reuters) - Gold and silver edged lower on Monday, as the dollar firmed on euro zone debt worries before the bloc's finance ministers meet to discuss a bailout plan for Portugal later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold inched down 0.1 percent to $1,491.45 an ounce by 0024 GMT, after ending the previous week nearly flat.
* U.S. gold futures
* Spot silver fell by 0.3 percent to $35.17,
extending the nearly 1 percent loss in the previous week. U.S.
silver
* Precious metals are under pressure from a strengthening dollar, which was propped up by U.S. inflation data and the euro dropped to a 6-week low against the dollar. [ID:nN13186747]
* Euro zone finance ministers are likely to back a bailout package for Portugal on Monday, in talks overshadowed by charges against IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn for attempted rape. [ID:nLDE74E0N7][ID:nN15215355]
* Managed money sharply scaled back their bullish bets in COMEX silver futures and options to the lowest level since January, as prices tumbled as much as 30 percent from a record high near $50 an ounce, U.S. regulator data showed Friday. [ID:nN13278663]
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks ended a second week of losses on a down note Friday, reflecting growing worries that stocks are on the precipice of a pullback.
* The euro extended its losses and hit a two-month low against the yen and a six-week trough versus the dollar on Monday, hurt by ongoing worries that Greece may restructure its sovereign debt.
DATA/EVENTS 0500 Japan Consumer confid. index Apr 2011 0900 EZ Inflation, final yy Apr 2011 0900 EZ Eurostat trade nsa, EUR Mar 2011 1400 U.S. NAHB housing market indx May
PRICES Precious metals prices 0024 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1491.45 -1.80 -0.12 5.07 Spot Silver 35.17 -0.11 -0.31 13.97 Spot Platinum 1748.75 -7.30 -0.42 -1.06 Spot Palladium 703.78 -1.92 -0.27 -11.97 TOCOM Gold 3886.00 -38.00 -0.97 4.21 31674 TOCOM Platinum 4597.00 -35.00 -0.76 -2.11 3883 TOCOM Silver 91.20 -0.20 -0.22 12.59 1847 TOCOM Palladium 1850.00 -20.00 -1.07 -11.78 84 COMEX GOLD JUN1 1492.00 -1.60 -0.11 4.97 3036 COMEX SILVER JUL1 35.21 0.20 +0.56 13.80 2759 Euro/Dollar 1.4067 Dollar/Yen 80.75 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)