* Global gold demand up 11 pct in Q1 -World Gold Council
* Spot gold may rise to $1,516.40 -technicals
* Coming up: U.S. unemployment claims; 1230 GMT (Adds details, comments; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, May 19 (Reuters) - Silver and gold steadied on Thursday, as a softer dollar and rising oil prices continued to support sentiment a day after commodities notched up their biggest gain in two months.
The dollar dropped as much as 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies, boosting buying interest in dollar-denominated commodities, while higher oil prices stoked inflation worries, increasing gold's appeal as a safe-haven investment.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,494.86 an ounce by
0617 GMT, below the 30-day average at $1,499.67. U.S. gold
"We are seeing signs of bottoming-out in gold as the dollar has weakened, but $1,500 remains a very contested level," said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures.
The gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of silver can buy one ounce of gold, dropped to a one-week low of 42.59, off the three-month high above 44 hit earlier in the week.
Technical analysis suggested that spot gold may revisit the May 13 high of $1,516.40 per ounce, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. [ID:nL4E7GJ05H]
Commodities posted their biggest gain in two months on Wednesday, suggesting investors believed this month's deep slide may have been overdone. But some analysts think the bearish trend may have further to go, pointing to thin volumes in certain markets. [ID:nLDE74F15N]
Global gold investment in the first quarter increased by 26 percent in tonnage terms to 310.5 tonnes, helping push up total bullion demand by 11 percent to 981.3 tonnes, the industry-funded World Gold Council said.[ID:nLDE74H1FE]
Investors favoured coins and bars over exchange traded funds, causing the first net quarterly outflow from gold ETFs since mid-2007.
The trend continued into the second quarter, with holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold ETF, slipping to a one-year low of 1,191.344 tonnes by May 18.
Spot silver gave back most of early gains to $35.07, up 0.2 percent. It was poised for a third consecutive day of rise, after rising for more than 3 percent in the previous session.
U.S. silver
"Technically it would be healthy to have a deeper correction," said a Singapore-based dealer. "We originally expected silver to fall to $30, but buyers came back at the $33 level and they may push silver back to above $40 again."
Spot platinum gained 0.6 percent to $1,773.49. Spot palladium gained 0.3 percent to $730.97, on course for its fourth day of consecutive gains.
Precious metals prices 0617 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1494.86 -1.44 -0.10 5.31 Spot Silver 35.07 0.06 +0.17 13.64 Spot Platinum 1773.49 10.09 +0.57 0.34 Spot Palladium 730.97 2.09 +0.29 -8.57 TOCOM Gold 3933.00 34.00 +0.87 5.47 47695 TOCOM Platinum 4716.00 38.00 +0.81 0.43 15892 TOCOM Silver 91.90 2.50 +2.80 13.46 2083 TOCOM Palladium 1931.00 31.00 +1.63 -7.92 281 COMEX GOLD JUN1 1494.70 -1.10 -0.07 5.16 17353 COMEX SILVER JUL1 35.08 -0.02 -0.05 13.38 5298 Euro/Dollar 1.4262 Dollar/Yen 81.64 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)