* Euro zone fiscal woes linger, fuelling safe-haven demand
* Euro turns higher, dollar retreats
* Platinum steadies after 7-week high
(Releads, adds comment, updates prices)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Gold pared gains on Wednesday
as safe-haven buying abated after Greece said its plans to curb
its budget deficit were ahead of schedule, but persistent worry
over the euro zone's fiscal health still lent support.
Traders were also cheered by the metal's bounce from the
lows it hit in the last session. Platinum rose to seven-week
highs at $1,614.50 an ounce, meanwhile, chasing gains in
palladium, which climbed to a two-year high late last week.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,123.30 an ounce at 1435 GMT,
against $1,121.15 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures
for April delivery <GCJ0> on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange rose $1.20 to $1,123.50 an ounce.
"It looks like there is still some safe-haven money (coming
in)," said Deutsche Bank trader Michael Blumenroth.
"It looks constructive. We tested the downside yesterday and
it came back pretty strongly, so I think the next move will be
on the upside rather than the downside."
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.3623 <EUR=> after hitting a
session low of $1.3546. Greece said in a report it is ahead of
schedule with plans to tame its budget deficit, and there has
been no slippage in moves to rein in spending. []
Fears over the fiscal health of the euro zone have supported
gold this week. Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday it still has a
negative outlook on Portugal's credit rating, which heightened
concern that peripheral euro zone economies may face debt
problems similar to those of Greece. []
"All the worries about the fiscal situation, and how that is
managed, are being read as positive for gold," said Credit
Agricole analyst Robin Bhar.
"That should become a long-standing issue, as people are
concerned about how governments in the euro zone are handling
the whole fiscal situation."
The precious metal also came under pressure as other
commodities retreated. Oil and industrial metals prices rose
earlier after well-received imports data from China, but turned
lower in midafternoon trade. [] []
PLATINUM OFF 7-WEEK HIGH
Platinum also pared gains after earlier rising more than 1
percent to its highest in seven weeks, boosted by strong buying
from Japan in Asian trade and tracking gains in fellow
autocatalyst material palladium and other industrial metals.
"Owing to their industrial use, silver, platinum and
palladium experienced disproportionally high gains on the back
of the general metal price rally," said Commerzbank in a note.
Both platinum and palladium are benefiting from expectations
that demand from industrial users, chiefly carmakers, will rise.
They are also being underpinned by rising investment demand
after the launch of platinum- and palladium-backed
exchange-traded products in New York earlier this year by a U.S.
subsidiary of London's ETF Securities.
Both products saw inflows on Tuesday. Holdings of ETFS
Physical Platinum Shares <PPLT.P> rose nearly 10,000 ounces to
289,610 ounces, while those of ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
<PALL.P> climbed nearly 15,000 ounces to 504,511 ounces.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,601.50 an ounce against $1,589,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $468.50 against $465. Spot silver
<XAG=> was bid at $17.41 an ounce against $17.23.
The ratio of gold to silver prices fell to 64.6 on
Wednesday, its lowest since January 25, meaning silver is
becoming increasingly expensive compared to gold.
"Given the rise in the daily and weekly momentum indicators,
prices could continue to rise, but we expect the Jan 11 high of
$18.85 an ounce to hold and keep the Dec 3 high of $19.42 an
ounce out of play," said Standard Chartered in a note.
For stories from the Reuters Global Mining and Steel summit,
click on []
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
