PRECIOUS-Gold up on euro zone debt fears, premiums at 2-yr high

                                
 * Premiums for gold bars jump to 2-year high
                                
 * Gold to rebound to $1,388/oz-technicals [ID:nL3E7CB00V]
                                
 * Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores; 1245 GMT

 (Updates prices)	
                                
 By Lewa Pardomuan	
                                
 SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on Tuesday on 
persistent worries about indebted euro zone countries, while 
purchases from investors and jewellers pushed up premiums for 
gold bars to their highest in two years.	
                                
 Bullion's drop to its lowest in more than a month last week 
 also helped lift premiums for gold bars, with demand picking 
up ahead of the Lunar New Year celebration in February. Gold 
bars were offered at a premium of $3 to the spot London prices 
in Hong Kong, matching a similar level seen in late 2008. 
 
                                
 Spot gold rose $1.35 an ounce to $1,375.80 an ounce 
by 0640 GMT. Gold was well below a historical high of around 
$1,430 struck in December. 	
                                
 "There's a huge demand from China. Refineries just opened 
and there's not much stock around, so it's a bit tight," said 
Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.	
                                
 Investors will also closely watch the developments in 
Portugal, which is widely seen as the country next in line in 
the euro zone to need a bailout after Greece and Ireland, said 
Leung.	
                                
 Gold will rebound into a range of $1,388-$1,392 per ounce 
as an upward  wave "c" is advancing, according to Wang Tao, a 
Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.	
                                
 For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:	
                                
 http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20111101083145.jpg    	
                                
 The euro on Tuesday hovered above a four-month trough hit 
the previous day, after Japan said it may buy about a fifth of 
the bonds a European rescue fund plans to sell later this 
month to finance its bailout scheme for Ireland. 
                                
  The focus this week is on whether Lisbon will be able to  
raise funds in the debt market on Wednesday or be forced to  
turn to the EU and IMF for financial aid. 	
                                
 U.S. gold futures for February added $2.1 an ounce 
to $1,376.2 an ounce.	
                                
 The physical sector in Singapore was steady after seeing 
heavy buying from jewellers in Thailand on Monday, which could 
be related to inflation fears there.	
                                
 Thailand's central bank said on Tuesday it expected rising 
inflationary pressure this year if the global and domestic 
economies expanded as expected, reinforcing market 
expectations of further monetary tightening. [ID:nSGE70A02H]	
                                
 "Trading is mixed this morning, with moderate trading 
volume," said a dealer in Singapore. "The market is currently 
short of physical supply. We have no available stocks to offer 
except for those who have booked in advance.	
                                
 China's Lion Fund  Management, which last month launched 
the first gold fund in the world's biggest producer of the 
metal, has met its goal of raising $500 million for the fund, 
the company said in a statement. [ID:nL3E7CB03C]	
                                
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR 
Gold Trust , said its holdings rose to 1,272.682 tonnes 
by Jan. 10 from 1,271.164 tonnes on Jan. 7.  	
                                
 	
  Precious metals prices at 0640 GMT                                         
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover           
  Spot Gold        1375.80    1.35   +0.10     25.56                         
  Spot Silver        29.07    0.02   +0.07     72.73                         
  Spot Platinum    1740.75    2.76   +0.16     18.66                         
  Spot Palladium    754.97    5.00   +0.67     86.18                         
  TOCOM Gold       3688.00    6.00   +0.16     13.16        56190            
  TOCOM Platinum   4711.00   26.00   +0.55      7.53        11405            
  TOCOM Silver       78.00    0.70   +0.91     50.87         1594            
  TOCOM Palladium  2047.00   11.00   +0.54     75.71          638            
  Euro/Dollar       1.2953                                                   
  Dollar/Yen         83.02                                                   
                                
                                                                          
  TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.                  
	
 (Editing by Himani Sarkar)	
 
 
 
                                
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