* Gold treads water above 1-1/2 week low * Spot gold may retrace to $1,562.99/oz -technicals * Coming up: euro zone flash PMI, July; 0758 GMT (Adds details; updates prices) By Rujun Shen SINGAPORE, July 24 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday above the 1-1/2 week low of around $1,560 an ounce hit in the previous session, although deepening worries about the euro zone debt crisis kept prices under pressure. Concerns about Spain's finances were rekindled after a number of regions in the country sought help from the central government, while Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook for Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable. Gold has mainly followed the fortunes of the euro in recent months, shifting away from its traditional status as a so-called safe haven. The dollar rose to a two-year high, weighing on dollar-priced commodities as they became more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. "In the short term, gold still looks weak as the sovereign debt problems in Spain and Italy continue to worry investors," said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures. "The trouble in Europe will help the dollar to further strengthen, which will put pressure on gold, although the downside room for the metal is rather limited." The $1,530 level has provided strong support for bullion after being tested a few times this year, analyst say. The inverse correlation between gold and the dollar stood at -0.718, its strongest level since the beginning of the year. A reading of -1 suggests a perfect inverse correlation, in which one asset rises and the other falls. "But we need external factors, such as a clear signal on more quantitative easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve, to lift gold beyond its current range," Li added. Spot gold was little changed at $1,577.06 an ounce at 0650 GMT. Prices have been moving sideways between roughly $1,530 and $1,640 since May. The U.S. gold futures contract for August delivery traded nearly flat at $1,576.50. Technical analysis suggested spot gold could fall towards $1,562.99 an ounce, the low in the previous session, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Gold investors paid little attention to data showing China's manufacturing output in July grew at its fastest pace in nine months. Asia's physical gold market failed to shake off its recent lethargy, with buyers waiting on the sidelines for prices to dip before jumping in to pick up bargains. "Since gold is still trapped in a range, no one is interested in putting in large orders," said a Singapore-based dealer. "We expect buyers to return if prices drop below $1,560." Gold's premium on platinum continued to widen, standing at about $186 an ounce, its widest since early June, as spot platinum stayed near a three-week low of $1,382.2 hit in the previous session. Precious metals prices 0650 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1577.06 0.27 +0.02 0.85 Spot Silver 27.02 0.02 +0.07 -2.42 Spot Platinum 1393.25 0.65 +0.05 0.02 Spot Palladium 568.39 1.99 +0.35 -12.89 COMEX GOLD AUG2 1576.50 -0.90 -0.06 0.62 14431 COMEX SILVER SEP2 27.00 -0.05 -0.17 -3.30 1977 Euro/Dollar 1.2115 Dollar/Yen 78.24 COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

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