* Strong U.S. data boosts dollar and bond yields
* Record German trade surplus adds to political risk
* SPDR Gold holdings rise for sixth straight session
* Platinum touches three-month high (Updates prices; adds comment, second byline, NEW YORK dateline)
By Marcy Nicholson and Peter Hobson
NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday from a three-month high in the previous session after robust U.S. economic data pointed to a stronger economy, increasing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates.
The data showing rising U.S. wholesale inventories and an unexpectedly low number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits also pushed up the dollar .DXY and U.S. bond yields US10YT=RR . FRX/ US/
A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Higher interest rates would lift yields further.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.85 percent at $1,231.03 an ounce by 3:53 p.m. EST (2053 GMT), while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 0.2 percent at $1,236.80.
"If people were betting on the Fed being more relaxed and rates being lower for longer, this (data) has muddied that picture," said Robin Bhar at Societe Generale (PA:SOGN).
Still, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, a voter on policy this year, told reporters it is reasonable to expect the Fed to raise rates three times this year. gold striking $1,244.67, its highest since Nov. 11, on Wednesday, some investors had turned cautious and were cashing in their bets on higher prices, Bhar said.
Gold has risen about 10 percent from a mid-December low as political risk in Europe and the United States has driven demand for bullion as a safe haven.
Those worries were fueled on Thursday by official data that showed Germany's trade surplus climbed to a record high in 2016, setting the scene for conflict between Berlin and Washington after Trump's top trade adviser last week accused Berlin of exploiting a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain trading advantage. about a possible trade and currency war therefore seem justified and are likely to keep demand for gold at a high level," said Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) in a note.
Adding support to prices, SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased its bullion holdings for a sixth day on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
"We see gold as relatively underpriced, given the rally in commodities and high level of political uncertainty," said Hamza Khan at ING.
In other precious metals, platinum XPT= was down 0.2 percent at $1,012.99 an ounce. The metal used in jewelry and autocatalysts touched $1,028.50, its highest since Oct. 3, earlier in the session.
Spot silver XAG= fell by 0.9 percent to $17.62 an ounce, while palladium XPD= was up 0.2 percent at $770. (Additional reporting By Nallur Sethuraman and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and James Dalgleish)