* Investors await post-meeting Fed comments for direction * Doubts over outcome of ECB pressure gold, euro, stocks * Technical picture suggests consolidation not over yet (Updates throughout, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE) By Jan Harvey LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady just below $1,615 an ounce on Wednesday, closely tracking moves in stocks and the dollar, as financial markets awaited the outcome of key monetary policy meetings of the U.S. and euro zone central banks. Analysts say the Federal Reserve could still hint at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday that more gold-friendly stimulus measures are on the way to prop up its economy, keeping pressure on long-term interest rates and weighing on the dollar. But while big news from the Fed is not expected until later this year, investors believe the European Central Bank announcement on Thursday may contain more of note after its chief Mario Draghi said last week he would do anything necessary to help the single currency. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,613.89 an ounce at 0934 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up $2.90 an ounce at $1,617.50. The rally that took the metal to its highest since mid-June at $1,629.10 an ounce last week has stalled. "The yellow metal gave back some of its gains yesterday, but it's still stuck in a range $1,600-1,630," Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva, said. "A break above $1,635 should open the path for $1,700, but it's quiet on all fronts at the moment." "Today's highlight is the outcome of FOMC meeting," he said. European stocks and the euro pared early gains on Wednesday, while Bund futures benefited, on renewed doubts on the ECB's scope for further measures to fight the region's debt crisis. The single currency is down nearly 5 percent against the dollar so far this year, hurt by the expanding euro zone debt crisis, which has forced Portugal, Ireland and Greece to seek international aid and led to soaring borrowing costs in Spain. Ahead of Thursday's meeting, the United States raised pressure on euro zone leaders to take decisive action to solve the region's debt crisis, notably by lowering troubled members' borrowing costs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview on Tuesday that the euro zone must take steps including "bringing down interest rates in the countries that are reforming and making sure those banking systems can provide the credit those economies need". QE3 'REMAINS A POSSIBILITY' "ECB president Draghi's comments about doing whatever is necessary to sustain the common currency have already boosted the sector, prompting gold to move from around $1,580 an ounce to current levels of $1,620," RBS said in a report on Wednesday. "A disappointing message from policy makers could trigger a correction back below $1,600 an ounce," it added. "Regardless of this week's decision and comments, RBS maintains the view that QE3 remains a possibility further ahead." From a technical perspective, analysts at ScotiaMocatta say gold's unimpressive price performance since its break above $1,600 an ounce last week means it remains in consolidation mode, having traded in a $150 range for 3-1/2 months. "The high on this move has only been 1629, which has so far failed to surpass the June high of 1641," they said. "We remain neutral until we see a break of resistance at 1640 or below support of 1602 (from the breached downtrend)." Barclays Capital, meanwhile, indicated resistance at $1,630/1,640 and support at $1,600/1,590. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, rose 3.32 tonnes on Tuesday, date from the fund showed. That pared its monthly net outflow back to just over 27 tonnes, the biggest one-month drop in its holdings this year. Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 percent at $27.97 an ounce, while spot platinum was down 0.1 percent at $1,409.49 an ounce and spot palladium was up 0.3 percent at $587.72 an ounce. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Alison Birrane)

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