* Gold up as funds push up PGM prices, off 2-week lows
* Chinese trade data also lifts sentiment
* Coming Up: Weekly U.S. mortgage market index, 1200 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 10 (Reuters) - Gold jumped on Wednesday
after a drop to a two-week low in the previous session ignited
bargain hunting, while gains in platinum and palladium prices
offered additional support.
Strong trade data from China helped boost gold price to a
high of around $1,126 an ounce, and buying by Japanese
speculators on Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> spilled in to
the cash market, driven by hopes of steady demand for
autocatalysts.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,124.75 an ounce by 0706 GMT, up
$3.60 from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it
dropped to $1,108.55 an ounce, its weakest since Feb. 26,
because of a resurgent dollar and falling oil prices.
Gold was around 1.7 percent below a 6-1/2-week high near
$1,150 hit in early March.
Several attempts to revisit a lifetime high of around
$1,200 struck in early December were met by heavy profit
taking, but steady investor interest could lend support.
China's data showing higher-than-expected exports and
imports lifted base metal prices and indicated a healthy demand
for commodities in the world's third-largest economy. []
[]
"That may have an upside potential for gold," said Wong Eng
Soon, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore,
adding that debt concerns in euro zone countries also boosted
gold's appeal as a hedge against currency fluctuations.
"If you look at it on a week-on-week basis, the SPDR gold
trust holdings of gold are still up. It means that investment
demand is still there and it is supported by retail," he added.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,116.120 tonnes
as of March 9, unchanged from the previous business day, but up
from 1,111.556 in early March. []
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> added $3.2 an
ounce to $1,125.5, having fallen to its weakest since Feb. 26
on Tuesday.
The euro <EUR=> slipped to around $1.3590 as it gave up
early gains. The common currency had come under fresh pressure
after the Fitch ratings agency said it still has a negative
outlook on Portugal's credit rating. [] []
Platinum <XPT=> rose towards its highest in more than a
month of $1,607 an ounce hit on Monday, while palladium <XPD=>
held within sight of a two-year high at $480 late last week.
"One of the Japanese firms are buying PGMs, so I guess
sentiment is firm. I think gold tracks platinum and palladium
higher," a dealer in Hong Kong said.
Platinum and palladium, primarily used in catalysts used in
vehicle exhaust systems, has benefited from well-received
February car sales numbers from China and the United States.
Despite the gains, precious metals house Heraeus was less
optimistic about the outlook.
"It appears unlikely that the metal can hold above the $500
an ounce mark for any extended period of time; at least not in
the near future," Heraeus said in a weekly report.
"In the coming days we expect platinum to calm down a bit,
with a trading range in a higher band than that of the past two
weeks. A break above the $1,606 an ounce mark in the next few
trading days seems unlikely."
The world's biggest palladium producer, Norilsk Nickel
<GKMN.MM>, also told the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit
that the metal is an appealing investment because future
jewellery and industrial demand will be strong.
[]
Precious metals prices at 0706 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1124.75 3.60 +0.32 2.65
Spot Silver 17.36 0.13 +0.75 3.15
Spot Platinum 1600.00 11.00 +0.69 9.07
Spot Palladium 467.00 2.00 +0.43 15.17
TOCOM Gold 3272.00 14.00 +0.43 0.40
43932
TOCOM Platinum 4638.00 51.00 +1.11 5.87
22628
TOCOM Silver 51.10 0.80 +1.59 -1.16
1009
TOCOM Palladium 1359.00 23.00 +1.72 16.65
782
Euro/Dollar 1.3582
Dollar/Yen 90.12
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
