By Susan Thomas LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Gold trimmed its gains on Friday after offici al data showed U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter as expected, but a weaker dollar on prospects that the Federal Reserve could pump more money into the world's largest economy supported the metal. U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate between April and June, the weakest pace since the third quarter of 2011, the Commerce Department said on Friday, as consumers spent at their slowest pace in a year. The weak second-quarter reading, which was in line with economists' expectations, could raise expectations of a third round of bond purchases, also known as quantitative easing, by the Fed. The euro climbed to a three-week high against the dollar, after French leader Francois Hollande and his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, said after a phone call they are determined to do all they can to safeguard the euro. At the same time, the dollar fell against a basket of currencies. More QE from the Fed would lead to more dollar printing, which would weaken the U.S. currency and that tends to lift dollar-denominated commodities like gold, because it makes them less expensive for consumers using other currencies. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,619.55 an ounce at 1400 GMT, easing from a session high of $1,629.10 after the GDP data. U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up 0.3 percent at $1,619.5 per ounce. 'Gold has stabilised since the GDP data, there's fairly good demand, some buying on the dips, but I doubt it will increase much,' Standard Bank strategist Walter de Wet said. 'It's broken out of its recent range, and $1,613 is providing support.' Gold has been seesawing between $1,530 and $1,630, partly due to the Fed's ambiguity on further easing. It has also been particularly sensitive to moves in the wider financial markets in the absence of direction from physical demand, which has been weak in recent months. 'We are still sceptical over the sustainability of such a fragile rebound,' Andrey Kryuchenkov at VTB Capital said in a note. 'Once again, gold volumes remain quite subdued and physical players will need to step in and support a sustained rally, which is also unlikely at these prices, not least because of a demand lull in India at the moment.' BUYERS HOVER ON THE SIDELINES Physical gold traders in number one consumer India stayed on the sidelines after prices stayed in the vicinity of their highest level in four weeks, driving away jewellers seeking to stock up for upcoming festivals. The most-active gold for August delivery hit a high of 29,829 rupees per 10 grams on Friday. Silver was down 0.3 percent at $27.42 an ounce, after hitting a three-week high of $27.81 in the previous session. Confidence in the metal remained shaky, with investors wary of taking positions in the volatile metal. Holdings of the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, were unchanged on Thursday, as were holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust. ETFs, which issue securities backed by physical stocks of metal, have proved a popular way to invest in gold and silver in recent years. Spot platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,405.99 an ounce. Its discount to spot gold increased to $215.59 an ounce in the previous session, its deepest since early December. Spot palladium was up 1.1 percent at $571.22 per ounce. Barrick Gold Corp and Newmont Mining Corp, the world's top two gold producers, both reported a sharp decline in their quarterly profits.

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