* Euro, sterling, Swiss franc gold near record highs
* SPDR gold ETF holdings hit record 1,146.825 T
(Updates prices, adds comment, detail)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Gold prices lifted from lows on
Wednesday, climbing back towards Tuesday's 2010 high, as reports
of a multi-billion euro aid package for Greece failed to allay
concerns over the euro zone's fiscal health.
A German member of parliament for the opposition Greens
party said a euro zone/IMF aid package for Greece will be worth
100 billion to 120 billion euros ($160 billion) over three
years, citing IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,167.15 an ounce at 1428 GMT,
against $1,168.03 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures
for June delivery <GCM0> on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange rose $6.30 to $1,168.50 an ounce.
Gold rose from earlier lows and bullion priced in euros,
sterling and Swiss francs held near the record highs they hit on
Tuesday after Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on Greece to
junk status and downgraded Portugal.
"This kind of nervousness should be supportive for gold,"
said Societe General analyst David Wilson. "It is exactly the
sort of environment gold thrives in. It has come back to being
that safe haven that we saw at the beginning of last year."
The euro <EUR=> recovered on Wednesday from one-year lows
it hit in earlier trade on news of the euro zone/IMF aid package
for Greece. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet
said he was confident the negotiations would conclude well.
[] []
Concern over the fiscal health of smaller euro zone
economies has boosted gold but pressured the euro this year,
causing the traditional relationship between the two to weaken.
Oil initially firmed as the measures were announced, while
European shares lifted from lows after earlier hitting their
lowest since early March. U.S. stocks opened higher ahead of a
Federal Reserve interest rate decision due later. [] []
COMMODITIES UNDER PRESSURE
Gold's near 6 percent gains this year have come largely on
the back of rising sovereign risk, analysts said.
"Essentially, gold bears no counterparty or currency risk,
being your ideal hedge against sovereign or default risks,"
saitd VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov in a note.
"Bullion will continue to draw support from its safe haven
appeal, with euro zone fears intensifying from here."
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, hit a record 1,146.825
tonnes on Tuesday, up 0.609 tonnes. []
Other precious metals such as silver, platinum and
palladium, which are more industrial in use than gold, succumbed
to selling pressure, however.
Platinum <XPT=> hit its lowest in a week on Wednesday at
$1,695 an ounce, down 2 percent from Friday. It was later at
$1,704 an ounce against $1,715.50 late on Tuesday.
Palladium <XPD=> was at $537.50 an ounce against $545.50,
while silver <XAG=> was at $17.85 against $18.14.
"There is no doubt that sentiment for platinum and palladium
is less emphatic than was the case earlier this month," said UBS
analyst Edel Tully in a note.
"Considering the overtime drive both metals have been on
since March 25, once the liquidation tide returned, platinum and
palladium were wide open to heavy losses."
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For an interactive graphic showing the relative performance
of various commodities in 2010, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/CMD_PRFG0410.swf
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(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
