* Gold to rise to $1,536-technicals [ID:nL3E7GO04L]
* Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores; 1145 GMT (Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Gold firmed to its highest level in almost two weeks on Tuesday on worries that Europe's debt crisis was spreading out of control, sending euro-denominated bullion to a record above 1,081 euros an ounce.
Gold may challenge a record high hit earlier this month as negative ratings actions on Greece and Italy as well as regional election results in Spain raise concerns about a deepening of the euro zone's debt problems, adding lustre to bullion's safe-haven appeal.
Spot gold added $1.89 to $1,517.94 an ounce by 0543 GMT, having hit an intraday high at $1,518.46 an ounce, its strongest since May 11. Bullion was still below a lifetime high of $1,575.79 an ounce struck in early May.
"The market is so unsure as to what the outcome of all the various meetings that are going on in Europe, whether or not they are going to come to an agreement for restructure or some other kind of means of dealing with it," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.
"We've yet to find out."
Euro-denominated gold hit a record at 1,081.43 euros an ounce.
The dollar held near a seven-week high against a basket of currencies and the euro remained on the defensive on Tuesday on worries that the euro zone's debt crisis could spread to heavyweights like Spain that had been considered safe from contagion.
"Gold will benefit as a result of its safe haven status ... Obviously, a very positive sign for gold at the moment," said Heathcote of Investec Australia.
"We'll be targeting the next level now, which is probably going to be somewhere initially around $1,520 but I guess, then around $1,526," said Heathcote, adding that gold could eventually revisit the record high.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Monday protracted European sovereign debt turmoil could weigh on the U.S. economic recovery. [ID:nN23204840]
Silver was steady at $35.27 an ounce, below a record at $49.51 an ounce hit in April.
Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust , rose 0.63 percent, while that of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust , dropped 0.15 percent from Friday to Monday.
"Sentiment is slightly bullish because of the ETF, which is giving gold some support. But I would say that people will be buying gold at lower end and then liquidate a little bit," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"Let's see if gold could hold above $1,520. Silver trading has slowed down. Everybody is waiting for the right time to buy again, which won't be at the $35 level."
In other markets, Asian stocks held steady on Tuesday but may resume declines after the prior session's sell-off as fears about the euro zone's worsening debt problems and volatile commodity prices kept investors on edge.
Precious metals prices 0543 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1517.94 1.89 +0.12 6.94 Spot Silver 35.27 0.23 +0.66 14.29 Spot Platinum 1756.99 8.64 +0.49 -0.59 Spot Palladium 731.00 3.01 +0.41 -8.57 TOCOM Gold 4003.00 19.00 +0.48 7.35 51420 TOCOM Platinum 4683.00 8.00 +0.17 -0.28 7079 TOCOM Silver 92.70 1.40 +1.53 14.44 1188 TOCOM Palladium 1937.00 12.00 +0.62 -7.63 132 Euro/Dollar 1.4064 Dollar/Yen 81.83 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Himani Sarkar)