* China Q4 GDP figures due on Jan. 21 eyed
* SPDR Gold holdings inch down 0.08 pct
TOKYO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Platinum hit a 17-month high on
Wednesday, buoyed by the recent launch of exchange-traded funds
backed by the metal, while gold inched down due to pressure from
a firmer dollar.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose as high as $1,654 per ounce, a
level last seen in August 2008. It was at $1,646.50 at 0306 GMT.
A U.S. subsidiary of London's ETF Securities launched
platinum and palladium exchange-traded funds earlier this month,
and both metals have been climbing since then.
The metal, which like palladium is also valued for its
industrial use in autocatalysts, is expected by some market
participants to head higher.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Tuesday raised its 2010
platinum forecast to $1,750 an ounce from $1,440 an ounce, on the
launch of the new funds and an improving auto sector.
"Platinum still has room to go up to $1,680 and technically,
we will see some sort of resistance there," said a dealer in Hong
Kong.
Sister metal palladium <XPD=> paused but continued to trade
near 18-month highs marked this week.
It was at $461.75, down from $464.50 in New York.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Co Ltd, said hopes
that Chinese gross domestic product data would show strong growth
was helping to support the market.
Strong economic growth would help spur use of platinum and
palladium due to their industrial applications.
"It's difficult to sell in a market under these conditions,"
Saito said.
Gold prices jumped earlier this month on fund buying driven
by stronger-than-expected Chinese import data.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,134.40 per ounce, down 0.3 percent
from the New York notional close of $1,137.95.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were at
$1,135.10, down 0.4 percent from the settlement in New York.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,111.922 tonnes as
of Jan. 19, down 0.08 percent from the previous business day.
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0303 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1135.00 -2.95 -0.26 3.59
Spot Silver 18.68 -0.05 -0.27 10.99
Spot Platinum 1646.00 3.00 +0.18 12.20
Spot Palladium 461.75 -2.25 -0.48 13.87
TOCOM Gold 3341.00 21.00 +0.63 2.52 39778
TOCOM Platinum 4816.00 75.00 +1.58 9.93 18990
TOCOM Silver 55.30 0.30 +0.55 6.96 565
TOCOM Palladium 1349.00 20.00 +1.50 15.79 473
Euro/Dollar 1.4222
Dollar/Yen 91.28
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by David Dolan)
