* Spot gold headed for 1.4-pct monthly loss, 5.7-pct quarterly rise
* Gold faces resistance around 50-day moving average at $1,520
* Coming Up: Greece's parliament votes on final austerity bill (Updates prices; adds detail)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Gold held ground on Thursday after rising for the past two days, as an initial favourable vote on austerity measures by Greece's parliament weighed on the dollar, but low speculative interest and physical demand may cap gold's upside in the short term.
Greece's parliament passed the first of two austerity measures on Wednesday despite escalating street violence. It is expected to vote in favour of the final austerity bill later on Thursday.
The dollar lost half a percent against a basket of currencies, as the euro rallied after Greece moved a step closer to securing international aid.
"If Greece passes the bill, we may see gold test higher tonight," said a Hong Kong-based trader, but added that the upside could be limited at $1,520, around the 50-day moving average.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,511.86 an ounce by
0555 GMT, after rising for two straight sessions. U.S. gold
Spot gold was headed for a second monthly fall with a 1.4 percent decline, but still on course for 5.7-percent quarterly rise. Gold has posted 11 consecutive quarterly gains.
Gold's safe haven appeal is likely to be retained in the aftermath of Greece's debt crisis, but prices may be trapped in a range in the short run due to lack of speculative interest.
"We need to see if fund buying is coming back, which will largely depend on whether there will be more stimulus plan in the United States after the current round of quantitative easing ends," said Ronald Leung, a physical dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers.
U.S. President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for new steps to spur job growth and tax hikes on the rich, hardening a stance that will likely complicate deficit reduction talks with Republicans.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dipped to 1,208.233 tonnes. Holdings dipped nearly 3 tonnes in the second quarter, posting a loss for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Physical buying from earlier in the week has fizzled after prices climbed above $1,500.
Spot silver gained 0.8 percent to $35.03, on course for a 7 percent quarterly loss, its first in the red after nine straight quarterly gains and its worst since the third quarter of 2008.
Spot palladium led the precious metals complex with a 1.5-percent rise, but on course for its second straight month of loss. Palladium remained the worst-performing precious metal this year, down more than 5 percent so far.
Precious metals prices 0555 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1511.86 0.31 +0.02 6.51 Spot Silver 35.03 0.27 +0.78 13.51 Spot Platinum 1722.49 -1.51 -0.09 -2.55 Spot Palladium 757.72 11.22 +1.50 -5.23 TOCOM Gold 3916.00 -14.00 -0.36 5.01 43014 TOCOM Platinum 4511.00 12.00 +0.27 -3.94 15729 TOCOM Silver 90.60 1.60 +1.80 11.85 1174 TOCOM Palladium 1975.00 18.00 +0.92 -5.82 337 COMEX GOLD AUG1 1512.50 2.10 +0.14 6.41 6512 COMEX SILVER JUL1 35.07 0.32 +0.92 13.35 121 Euro/Dollar 1.4500 Dollar/Yen 80.39 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Editing by Ed Lane)