* Gold firms to highest in nearly three months
* Silver, PGMs near recent highs
* Coming Up: U.S. wholesale inventories for Feb; 1400 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - Gold climbed to its highest
in almost three months in thin trade on Friday, while holdings
in the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> struck a record on safe-haven
buying prompted by volatile currencies and Greek debt woes.
Bullion, which was heading for its biggest weekly gain
since early January, has also benefited from expectations of
low interest rates in the United States, though a firm dollar
could still ignite selling. Gold in euro terms <XAUEUR=R> held
near a record.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit an intraday high of $1,154.05 an ounce
and was at $1,153.00 by 0610 GMT, up $2.85 from New York's
notional close on Thursday, when it had also risen to its
strongest since mid-January.
Gold, which was about 6 percent below a lifetime high above
$1,200 hit in early December of 2009, hovered well above the
closely watched 14- and 50-day moving averages.
"It's really a consolidation of the existing trend and some
additional impetus from the Greece situation," said Darren
Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia in Sydney,
referring to the gains.
"Until we get some more news, I think we're probably likely
to consolidate. We might not see much movement in the next few
days. Ultimately, we might have a little bit retracement before
moving higher."
A rise in ETF holdings to record reflected a steady
investors interest in gold. The world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings
hit an all-time high at 1,140.433 tonnes as of April 8,
surpassing an earlier record of 1,134.03 tonnes touched on June
1, 2009. []
COMEX June gold contract <GCM0> added $1.3 to $1,154.2 an
ounce, having earlier risen to its highest in almost three
months at $1,155 an ounce.
The physical sector was deserted after purchases from
jewellers in Asia picked up at this week's lows around $1,122
an ounce, suggesting that bullion may struggle to hold gains.
Premiums for gold bars hardly moved in Singapore and Hong Kong.
<GOLD/ASIA1>
The euro firmed in early trade on Friday as investors cut
record-high short positions, but the single currency struggled
to keep those gains as worries about debt-laden Greece simmered
in the background. []
The euro regained some footing after European Central Bank
chief Jean-Claude Trichet assured markets that a Greece default
was unlikely. For more on Trichet's remarks see
[].
Silver <XAG=> and platinum group metals held near this
week's highs.
Palladium <XPD=> has gained nearly 3 percent this week on
purchases by auto catalyst makers in Japan and investment
demand spurred by the prospects of a recovery in the global
auto sector, but some analysts remained cautious.
"From experience, any upward trend is marked by phases of
weaknesses and dips and we remain of the opinion that
industrial end-users should use such dips to cover some of
their future demand," Heraeus said in a weekly report.
"Here, for now one should not speculate on large drops, as
at $470, $440 and then again at $410 an ounce there is strong
technical support."
Platinum <XPT=>, which also rose nearly 3 percent this
week, had purely tracked its sister metal higher, with dealers
in Japan reporting an absence of physical buying from the
industrial sector.
Precious metals prices at 0610 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1153.00 2.85 +0.25 5.23
Spot Silver 18.14 0.10 +0.55 7.78
Spot Platinum 1715.00 3.50 +0.20 16.91
Spot Palladium 501.00 -0.50 -0.10 23.55
TOCOM Gold 3483.00 36.00 +1.04 6.87
54004
TOCOM Platinum 5159.00 53.00 +1.04 17.76
17291
TOCOM Silver 55.20 0.40 +0.73 6.77
423
TOCOM Palladium 1515.00 14.00 +0.93 30.04
408
Euro/Dollar 1.3361
Dollar/Yen 93.66
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
