* Euro, equities, commodities sold
* Haven buying underpins gold as Greek debt woes persist
* Gold increasingly expensive versus silver, platinum
(Releads, update prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Gold eased in Europe on Wednesday,
caught up in selling that hit assets like the euro and other
commodities, but fears of financial contagion from the Greek
debt crisis fuelled safe-haven buying, which underpinned prices.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,166.10 an ounce at 1109 GMT,
against $1,170.65 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures
for June delivery <GCM0> on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange fell $2.70 to $1,166.50 an ounce.
Simon Weeks, head of precious metals at the bank of Nova
Scotia, said gold had suffered from perceptions that Tuesday's
rally to five-month highs at $1,191.90 an ounce was overdone.
"I am still looking for $1,160," he said "(Gold) got caught
as a commodity yesterday, but once this clear-out is done, we
will recover as the overall picture hasn't changed."
Prices are underpinned by concerns Greek-style debt woes may
spread to other economies. European Central Bank governing
council member Axel Weber said there is a serious threat of
Greece's problems spilling over to other parts of the euro zone.
[]
The premium investors demand to hold debt issued by
peripheral euro zone countries over German benchmark bonds rose
on Wednesday as concern over the creditworthiness of economies
like Greece, Spain and Portugal persisted. []
"We think the flight to safety will continue, and we expect
to see more inflows into physical gold products like exchange
traded funds," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.
"As long as uncertainties on the markets persist, gold
should remain well-supported. We have seen record highs in
euros, Swiss francs and sterling in the last few days and it
should only be a matter of time before gold reaches new record
highs in dollars as well."
Gold touched a dollar high of $1,226.10 last December.
JEWELLERY DEMAND SOFT
Rising prices weighed on jewellery demand, with dealers in
major gold consumer India sticking to the sidelines on Wednesday
as the weak rupee also pressured sentiment. []
Investment interest held firm, however, with holdings of the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, still at a record high on Tuesday.
Prices are poised for further gains from a technical
perspective, according to analysts who study past price moves
for clues as to the future direction of the market.
"Over the past several weeks, (gold) has forged higher highs
in the face of sideways equities, a stronger dollar, and heavy
commodities generally," said Barclays Capital in a note.
"This speaks to the strength of the larger bull trend, with
the head and shoulders base targeting $1,250 in Q2, but
ultimately $1,500 into the end of the year."
Risk aversion battered other markets, with the euro <EUR=>
hitting a one-year low on Wednesday. Oil slipped below $82 a
barrel, extending its steepest one-day loss in three months,
while European shares softened. [] [] []
Gold has outperformed other more industrial precious metals
in recent weeks as concern about Greece's debt burden weighed on
industrial commodities, while encouraging haven flows into gold.
The ratio of gold to silver -- the number of ounces of
silver needed to buy an ounce of gold -- rose as high as 66.3 on
Wednesday, a two-month high, while the gold-platinum ratio hit
its highest since early March at 0.7.
Silver <XAG=> was at $17.55 an ounce against $17.84, while
platinum <XPT=> was at $1,646.50 an ounce versus $1,668.50 and
palladium <XPD=> was at $499 against $515.50, having earlier hit
its lowest since early April at $496.50.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
