* Gold set for 11th day of gains, longest winning stretch since 1970
* Gold short-term outlook bullish on political uncertainties
* Gold targets $1,613/oz - technicals
* Coming up: U.S. NAHB housing market index, July; 1400 GMT (Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Spot gold touched a record high on Monday, on track for its longest winning run in at least four decades, reflecting persistent worries about the euro zone debt crisis and a growing threat of a U.S. government default.
Spot gold rose to an all-time peak of $1,598.41 and
U.S. gold
The appetite for bullion as a safe storage of value increased, as Republicans and Democrats sought to craft a plan that could avert an unprecedented government default, which might wreak havoc in global markets and send the world's top economy back to recession.
Adding to worries about the economic growth, U.S. consumer confidence hit a near 2-1/2-year low in early July and manufacturing output stalled in June.
"The political uncertainties in the United States and Europe will be an ongoing theme and safe-haven demand will continue," said Natalie Robertson, a commodities analyst at ANZ.
Robertson expected gold to reach $1,650 in the short term on macro concerns and chart strength, but added that volatility may increase as the deadline for the U.S. debt ceiling talks on Aug. 2 draws close.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,596.20 an ounce by 0612 GMT, on course for an 11th straight session of gains, its longest winning stretch in at least four decades.
U.S. gold
Results of stress tests of 90 banks across the European Union were better than expected, but failed to impress investors who continue to worry about the possibility of contagion of debt crisis in the region.
"This move in gold still has momentum, as Europe is burning to the ground," said a U.S.-based trader.
Technical analysis also pointed to a bullish picture. Spot gold has resumed its medium-term uptrend and would rise towards $1,613, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Indicating increased appetite in bullion, speculators sharply raised their bullish bets in U.S. gold futures and options last week as prices rallied, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
Holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose nearly 1 percent to 1,236.013 tonnes, highest since late January.
"Gold prices have hit fresh highs across several currencies on macro unease, the dollar weakening and the escalation of European sovereign debt uncertainty creating a favourable backdrop," said Barclays Capital in a research note.
"We expect prices to test new highs despite the seasonal weakness in demand."
Spot silver hit $39.95, its highest since May 4. It was trading at $39.84, up 1.5 percent, leading the year-to-date performance in the precious metals complex with a 29-percent gain .
U.S. silver
The gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of silver can buy an ounce of gold, declined to 40.10, its lowest since end of May.
Precious metals prices 0612 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1596.20 2.90 +0.18 12.45 Spot Silver 39.84 0.57 +1.45 29.10 Spot Platinum 1755.50 7.50 +0.43 -0.68 Spot Palladium 780.60 9.60 +1.25 -2.36 TOCOM Gold 4048.00 17.00 +0.42 8.55 17153 TOCOM Platinum 4508.00 11.00 +0.24 -4.00 1733 TOCOM Silver 98.30 1.20 +1.24 21.36 126 TOCOM Palladium 1993.00 13.00 +0.66 -4.96 78 COMEX GOLD AUG1 1596.70 6.60 +0.42 12.33 15187 COMEX SILVER SEP1 39.87 0.79 +2.03 28.85 9960 Euro/Dollar 1.4054 Dollar/Yen 78.99 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Editing by Himani Sarkar)