SINGAPORE, June 15 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on Wednesday after data showing strong economic growth in China stoked fears of inflation, and as U.S. retail sales fell less than forecast.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold added $1.44 an ounce to $1,524.69 an ounce by 0034 GMT. Gold is well below a lifetime high around $1,575 touched in early May.
* Silver rose 12 cents to $35.44 an ounce, below a record at $49.51 an ounce in April.
* Data in China showed inflation was running at its fastest pace in almost three years, while a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. retail sales lifted the S&P 500 index by 1.5 percent. [ID:ID:nL3E7HE05P]
* Holdings of the largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), New York's iShares Silver Trust , fell 0.44 percent from Monday to Tuesday, while the largest gold-backed ETF, New York's SPDR Gold Trust remained unchanged for the same period.
MARKET NEWS
* The safe-haven Swiss franc and yen were under broad pressure in Asia on Wednesday after U.S. and Chinese data helped lift some of the gloom about the global economy, bolstering risk appetite that saw strong gains for the euro and commodity currencies.
* The Nikkei stock average rose on Wednesday, helped by a weaker yen and U.S. retail sales figures that were better than expected, while resource-related stocks gained on rising commodity prices.
DATA EVENTS (GMT)
0900 EZ Industrial production yy Apr 2011
1230 U.S. Core CPI mm, sa May
1230 U.S. CPI mm, sa May
1230 U.S. Core CPI yy, nsa May
1230 U.S. CPI yy, nsa May
1315 U.S. Industrial output mm May
1400 U.S. NAHB housing market indx Jun
Precious metals prices 0034 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1524.69 1.44 +0.09 7.41 Spot Silver 35.44 0.12 +0.34 14.84 Spot Platinum 1796.24 7.04 +0.39 1.63 Spot Palladium 794.22 4.02 +0.51 -0.66 TOCOM Gold 3956.00 15.00 +0.38 6.09 24769 TOCOM Platinum 4707.00 -3.00 -0.06 0.23 3511 TOCOM Silver 91.80 0.90 +0.99 13.33 564 TOCOM Palladium 2063.00 -14.00 -0.67 -1.62 118 Euro/Dollar 1.4421 Dollar/Yen 80.52 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by)