* Euro, European shares firm ahead of ECB meeting
* Coming up: ECB rates move, 1245 GMT; statement, 1330 GMT
* Chinese imports soar in 2010 to date, data shows
(Updates throughout, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Elizabeth Fullerton and Jan Harvey
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Gold firmed a touch on Thursday,
supported by some safe-haven buying and a softer dollar, but
prices remained rangebound as investors awaited the outcome of a
key European Central Bank meeting later in the session.
Investors hope the bank at Thursday's policy meeting will
push through measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis, such
as expanding its government bond buying. This helped the euro to
rise and lifted stock markets in early trade.
Spot gold <XAU=> firmed 0.1 percent to $1,388.75 an ounce by
1111 GMT after rising as high as $1,396.70 on Wednesday -- its
strongest since Nov. 12. Bullion was still below a lifetime high
around $1,424 struck early in November.
U.S. gold futures for February <GCG1> rose $1.90 an ounce to
at $1,389.20 an ounce.
"The ECB will determine currency moves and if we have a
significantly stronger euro following the decision that's likely
to be positive for gold," Daniel Major, analyst at RBS said.
He also highlighted physical demand from Asia underpinning
the market.
Gold has made solid gains this week, currently up more than
2 percent, as investors fear a debt crisis that has already
sparked European Union bailouts of Ireland and Greece this year
could spread to other countries, such as Portiugal.
While the ECB is likely to keep interest rates on hold at a
record low 1.0 percent at 1245 GMT, its accompanying statement
will be closely watched for any sign of further action from the
bank to stem concerns over euro zone debt levels.
"Market attention today will be focused on the European
Central Bank meeting," said UBS analyst Edel Tully in a note.
"The rumour mills are alive with speculation that the ECB may
announce a major bond purchase programme, but our fixed income
strategists assign a low probability to this.
"Disappointment following the 1330 GMT press conference is
therefore a significant event risk for precious metals."
CHINESE IMPORTS FALL
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Shanghai Gold Exchange said
on Thursday that China's gold imports soared in the first 10
months of the year to 209.72 tonnes. The country was the world's
second biggest gold consumer last year. []
Elsewhere, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings rose to
1,293.891 tonnes by Dec 1 from 1,286.603 tonnes previously. The
holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. []
Wednesday's more-than-7-tonne rise represents the largest
one-day inflow to the fund since Oct. 14, and comes after the
trust's holdings fell in both October and November.
U.S. bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> said on Wednesday it expects
gold prices to peak near $1,750 an ounce in 2012 on rising U.S.
interest rates, even as the metal's rally is expected to
continue in 2011 due to quantitative easing. []
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For a story discussing the relative price performance of key
commodities in 2010, click on []
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In the rest of the precious metals complex, palladium <XPD=>
was the star performer, jumping to nine-year highs at $751 an
ounce. Palladium was later up 1.8 percent at $744.72.
Adrien Biondi, global head of precious metals at
Commerzbank, said palladium had long been undervalued and was
now playing catch-up, helped by the euro zone crisis, which has
benefited the whole complex, and physical demand.
"The industry, especially in Germany, is doing better, the
car industry is doing better and hence there's more demand,
investors are catching up," he said, noting the rally had the
potential to reach $900.
Silver <XAG=> was also firmer, up 0.21 percent at $28.50 an
ounce. while platinum <XPT=> rose 1.2 percent to $1,702.24.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
