PRECIOUS-Gold up slightly on Korean tensions; euro watched

                                
 * Irish government to map out 4-year plan      	
                                
 * Book-squaring seen before U.S. holiday      	
                                
 * Coming up: U.S. initial claims, durable goods; 1330 GMT	
                                
 	
                                
 By Rujun Shen and Lewa Pardomuan	
                                
 SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Wednesday 
but 	
showed a muted reaction to the heightened tensions between the 	
two Koreas, with investors still focused on the debt crisis in 	
Europe, which has put pressure on the euro.	
                                
 A U.S. aircraft carrier headed toward the Korean peninsula 
on Wednesday, a day after North Korea launched dozens of 
artillery shells on a South Korean island in one of the 
heaviest attacks on its neighbour since war ended in 1953. 
[ID:nL3E6MO04H]	
                                
 Gold added $1.31 an ounce to $1,377.51 an ounce by 	
0651 GMT, having risen to $1,382 on Tuesday, its highest since 	
Nov. 12, but was still well below a lifetime high around 
$1,424.1 struck in early November.	
                                
 U.S. gold futures were barely moved at $1,377 an 
ounce.	
                                
 "I am not sure if the market is completely convinced that 
the tension would lead to something more," said Darren 
Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia in Sydney.	
                                
 "I think it's being pushed and pulled by the euro as well 
at 	
the moment."	
                                
 The euro edged up from a two-month low on Wednesday, 
finding 	
support after a massive sell-off sparked by the euro zone debt 	
crisis and heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula.	
                                
 In Ireland, the deeply unpopular government said it will 	
explain on Wednesday how it plans to save 15 billion euros over 	
the next four years, inflicting more pain on voters to prove 
that it can tackle the country's debt. [ID:nLDE6AM25A]	
                                
 Bullion dealers in Singapore noted selling of gold bars and 	
scraps from consumers in Indonesia and Thailand, but China saw 	
buying on dips related to the tension in Korea.	
                                
 "It's mainly safe-haven buying in gold after North Korea  
and South Korea exchanged fire yesterday, in addition to the 	
buy-on-dip type," said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO 
Futures.	
                                
 "Gold is likely to revisit its record high at the end of 
this year or next year, thanks to strong demand, particularly 
from this region."	
                                
 Silver was steady, platinum and palladium 	
 firmed ahead of the release of economic data in the 
United States.	
                                
 The U.S. is scheduled to release a batch of data later in 
the day, including the weekly initial jobless claims, October 
durable goods order and new home sales, just ahead of the 
Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.             	
                                
 The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in 
the third quarter, but a slump in sales of previously owned 
homes in October indicated the recovery remains too anemic to 
reduce high unemployment. [ID:nN2399302]             	
                                
 Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust , the world's 	
largest physically-backed exchange-traded fund, rose to record	
highs for three consecutive sessions, signalling strong 
investment demand in the metal, seen as an alternate investment 	
from gold. [ID:nSGE6AM0JH]	
                                
 Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust remained unchanged  
at 	
1,285.084 tonnes. 
                                
 	
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0651 GMT	
 Metal            Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover	
 Spot Gold        1377.51    1.31   +0.10     25.72	
 Spot Silver        27.60    0.12   +0.44     63.99	
 Spot Platinum    1654.60    7.36   +0.45     12.79	
 Spot Palladium    696.28    9.81   +1.43     71.71	
 TOCOM Gold       3688.00   27.00   +0.74     13.16        57646	
 TOCOM Platinum   4478.00  -45.00   -0.99      2.21        10982	
 TOCOM Silver       73.90   -0.50   -0.67     42.94         1817	
 TOCOM Palladium  1871.00  -23.00   -1.21     60.60         1094	
 Euro/Dollar       1.3401	
 Dollar/Yen         83.12	
                                
 	
                                
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.	
  (Editing by Manash Goswami)     	
                                
 	
 
 
                                
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