SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - Gold inched lower on Friday
and was headed for a weekly decline of 1 percent, weighed down
by persistent concerns about Spain and lackluster U.S. economic
data.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold edged down 0.1 percent to $1,640.89 an
ounce by 0041 GMT, on course for a 1-percent weekly fall.	
    * U.S. gold was little changed at $1,642.	
    * Spain managed to reach the sales target at a bond auction
on Thursday, but at a cost of rising yields as the country
struggles to tame its deficit. 	
    * But economists polled by Reuters said Spain and Italy
would not need international bailouts as they battle through
their debt crises, although their economic ills may drag the
euro zone's recession into mid-year. 	
    * Investors remained concerned about the euro zone's fiscal
health. Rumors of a potential downgrading of France's credit
rating - later denied - pushed up French debt yields, before the
presidential election kicks off on Sunday.
  	
    * The latest string of U.S. data raised concerns about the
outlook for the world's top economy. The number of Americans
claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only
slightly last week, factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region
slowed sharply in April while home resales dropped in March. 
 	
    * Silver fabrication demand should climb 3 to 5 percent this
year as end-users replenish inventories that ran low late last
year due to an economic slowdown, but prices are unlikely to
test record highs as investor buying may remain subdued, said
the head of Thomson Reuters GFMS.   	
    * Spot silver edged down 0.3 percent to $31.64,
headed for a 0.6-percent weekly rise, its biggest one-week gain
in nearly two months.	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * U.S. stocks fell for a second day on Thursday as labor
market data showed more signs of weakness, while a warning from
Qualcomm and poor results from Stanley Black & Decker also
discouraged investors. 	
    * Investors remained wary of the yen on Friday with the
threat of easier monetary policy from the Bank of Japan still
ringing loudly, while disappointing U.S. data and falls in
global stocks kept the heat on commodity currencies. 	
   	
 DATA/EVENTS	
 0600  Germany   PPI                       March
 0800  Germany   Ifo business climate      Apr 2012                 
 0800  Germany   Ifo current conditions    Apr 2012                 
 0800  Germany   Ifo expectations          Apr 2012              
 0830  U.S.      Retails sales             March
 1200  U.S.      G20 finance ministers, c.bankers meeting  
 1810  U.S.      G20 Chair holds news conference 
 1930  U.S.      CFTC commitment of traders data Weekly               
 PRICES	
    Precious metals prices 0041 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1640.89   -1.59   -0.10      4.93
  Spot Silver        31.64   -0.08   -0.25     14.27
  Spot Platinum    1568.74   -5.86   -0.37     12.62
  Spot Palladium    661.72    1.97   +0.30      1.41
  COMEX GOLD JUN2  1642.00    0.60   +0.04      4.80         1083
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  31.66   -0.12   -0.39     13.40          262
  Euro/Dollar       1.3141
  Dollar/Yen         81.58
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
  	

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