PRECIOUS-Gold poised for third day of gains; platinum at 30-mth high

* Gold seen in range of $1,370-$1,378 during the day

* Gold to end rebound at $1,378 -technicals

* Coming up: U.S. housing starts, Dec; 1330 GMT (Updates prices)

By Rujun Shen

SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Spot gold was on course for a third consecutive day of gains on Wednesday, supported by dollar weakness and physical buying, while platinum hit a 30-month high, buoyed by an improved economic outlook.

The euro currency rose to a one-month high against the dollar on Tuesday, after strong data out of Germany, the euro zone's leading economy, lifted the economic outlook for the region.

The dollar's index against a basket of major currencies fell to a two-month low on Wednesday, as continued short-covering in the euro led to a broad fall in the dollar .

"It looks like gold is following the euro, which had a relatively strong run overnight," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia, adding that the dollar weakness was expected to continue supporting gold prices.

Active buying in Asia continued to buoy market sentiment, and gold is likely to trade in the range between $1,370 and $1,378 with a possibility of breaching the upside, he said.

Spot gold rose by half a percent to $1,374.30 an ounce by 0715 GMT, gearing for its third straight day of gains.

U.S. gold futures gained 0.4 percent to $1,374.2.

Spot gold is expected to end its current minor rebound by briefly touching a trendline resistance at $1,378 per ounce, as the major trend is still down, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst.

For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20111901092331.jpg

PLATINUM AT 30-MONTH HIGH

Spot platinum rose to $1,844 an ounce, its highest since July 2008, before easing to $1,840.74.

Upbeat economic data from the U.S. and Europe in recent weeks suggests the global economy has gained a steadier footing, boding well for industrial metals as well as precious metals with industrial uses, including silver, platinum and palladium.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange hit a record high of $9,774.75 a tonne.

Platinum is expected to surge to $1,950 per ounce over the next few weeks, should it stand firm above a pivotal resistance at $1,850, as the uptrend is steady and the bullish momentum has not dissipated. Retracement from the current level will be limited to $1,780, said Wang Tao.

"PGM (platinum group metals) are well-bid today, lending support to gold," said a Singapore-based trader.

Asian stocks to their highest since May 2008, led by sectors most sensitive to the economic growth cycle ahead of U.S. earnings. Precious metals prices 0715 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1374.30 6.81 +0.50 -3.18 Spot Silver 29.15 0.31 +1.07 -5.54 Spot Platinum 1840.74 17.24 +0.95 4.14 Spot Palladium 815.08 4.61 +0.57 1.95 TOCOM Gold 3646.00 10.00 +0.28 -2.23 43510 TOCOM Platinum 4936.00 81.00 +1.67 5.11 18935 TOCOM Silver 77.50 1.80 +2.38 -4.32 1308 TOCOM Palladium 2174.00 58.00 +2.74 3.67 673 Euro/Dollar 1.3474 Dollar/Yen 82.24 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Ed Lane)

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