* Gold reaches near 3-month high on safe haven flows, euro
* SPDR gold ETF holdings hit record high
* Silver hits highest since January 20, tracking gold
(Updates, adds comment, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Gold rose to three-month highs
in Europe on Friday as concern over the fiscal outlook for
peripheral euro zone economies boosted safe haven flows into the
precious metal, with a rebound in the euro also lifting prices.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, rose nearly 10 tonnes to
a record 1,140.433 tonnes on Thursday, its biggest one-day rise
since September. []
Spot gold <XAU=> peaked at $1,157.25 and was bid at
$1,155.65 an ounce at 0927 GMT, against $1,150.15 late in New
York on Thursday.
"The market is overall little bit disappointed with all the
problems with Greece," said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at
MKS Finance in Geneva. "A lot of people are turning to
commodities as a safe haven.
"We've got a lot of potential still to come in gold," he
added. With the metal's break of resistance at $1,155 an ounce,
he said, "the path to $1,200 willl be open".
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.80 to
$1,156.70 an ounce.
Spot gold prices peaked at $1,226.10 an ounce in December
amid talk of fresh interest in the metal from central banks. It
has since been buoyed by persistent concerns over the fiscal
health of debt-laden Greece and other smaller euro zone
economies such as Portugal, Italy and Ireland.
This has helped the metal shrug off overall strength in the
dollar, which has risen more than 6 percent versus the euro so
far this year. Strength in the U.S. currency usually weighs on
gold, which is often bought as an alternative asset.
A recovery in the euro on Friday on speculation Greece may
receive help to deal with its public debt load is helping gold
push higher still, though simmering concerns over the country
are still keeping some pressure on the single currency. []
"The 10-year Greek bond yield was on the rise at new highs
around 7.5 percent, along with ever-rising sovereign credit
default swaps on the debt-burdened euro zone member," said VTB
Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov in a note.
"Persistent jitters and talk of a potential Greek default
are likely to offer support to gold prices in the short term as
investors seek protection from sovereign and currency risks."
OIL REBOUNDS
Among other commodities, oil rebounded towards $86 on Friday
after two days of declines, as positive U.S. economic indicators
and views that China may revalue its currency bolstered
expectations for sustained energy demand growth. []
On the physical side of the gold market, dealers said Indian
demand was recovering after a few slack sessions as a strong
rupee made the dollar-priced metal cheaper. []
While ETF inflows jumped in the United States, holdings of
the Julius Baer Gold Fund also rose 2.4 percent on Thursday to
2.254 tonnes, the fund estimated.
Other precious metals also climbed, with silver rising in
gold's wake to near 11-week highs at $18.25 an ounce. Silver
<XAG=> was later bid at $ an ounce against $18.04.
Elsewhere platinum <XPT=> was at $1,715 an ounce versus
$1,711.50, while palladium <XPD=> was at $505.50 versus $501.50.
Both metals are benefiting from expectations that demand
from carmakers, which account for more than half of annual
consumption of platinum and palladium, will rise as the economic
recovery picks up.
"On the charts the recent gains in platinum have pushed the
metal into overbought territory," said James Moore, an analyst
at TheBullionDesk.com.
"However with room above in palladium, ETF holdings
increasing and the overall tone in the precious complex upbeat,
we expect dips to remain limited with both set to target higher
levels around $1,750/$525 in the coming sessions."
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
