Gold prices declined in Europe on Wednesday, with investors cashing in some recent gains in the metal as commodities, stocks and the euro slipped after Germany's move to ban naked short-selling of some securities. The metal remained supported near $1 210 an ounce, however, as fears lingered over the euro zone's fiscal health. Concern over debt levels in some euro zone economies and currency market volatility have sparked hefty price gains in recent weeks. "We're seeing bit of long liquidation at the moment," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "We had a pretty aggressive ramp up towards $1 250 last week and the market generally is quite long, so we're seeing a bit of a pause right now and bit of profit taking, but the dips are still seeing plenty of buying," he added. PRICES * Spot gold was at $1 209.90 an ounce at 08:45 SA time compared with $1 219.70 late in New York on Tuesday. * Silver was at $18.59 from $18.90. * Platinum at $1 648 from $1 666.50. * Palladium at $484 from $495. DATA/EVENTS * US CPI/core CPI for April, 14:30 SA time. * US real earnings for April, 14:30 SA time. * US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee releases minutes from its April 27-28 meeting. * US Cleveland Fed releases median CPI for April. * Bank of England releases minutes from its May 10 meeting, 10:30 SA time. MARKET NEWS * The dollar rose to its highest in more than four years versus the euro as a sell-off in the single currency gathered pace after Germany's move to ban naked short-selling of some securities rattled investors. * Oil fell to near $68, extending losses to a seven-month low, as US crude stockpiles hit a new high while concerns over tighter financial regulation in the US and Europe hit global equities and most commodities. * The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan dropped over 2 percent to a three-month low, and has fallen about 4.3 percent since the start of the week. European stock markets were seen falling sharply at the open. * Germany on Tuesday announced a ban on some high-risk bets that prices of bonds and stocks will fall. FUNDAMENTALS * Hedge fund manager David Einhorn said on Tuesday that there is "going to be a lot of inflation" and that he thinks of gold as a currency. * Newmont expects to open its Conga gold mine in Peru in late 2014 or late 2015, the company's executive vice president Guy Lansdown said on Tuesday at an industry conference. * Mexican miner Fresnillo expects its silver output to rise 71 percent through 2018 to 65 million ounces from 38 million ounces this year, Chief Executive Jaime Lomelin said on Tuesday. TECHNICALS * Gold support at $1 200, resistance at $1 226, 14-day RSI at 53.3. * Silver support at $18.45, resistance at $19.45, 14-day RSI at 48.8. * Platinum support at $1 651, resistance at $1 701, 14-day RSI at 33.4. * Spot gold prices are expected to retrace to $1 200 per ounce as consolidation around the $1 240 level has taken too long and the short-term trending signal has turned bearish. - Reuters

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